The Mirror are reporting that Arsenal are in ‘pole position’ to sign Youri Tielemans from Leicester City as he winds down his contract.

Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for Youri Tielemans during the summer but, as the Leicester 25-year-old entered the last year of his contract, it looked more and more like he would prefer a free move in the summer of 2023.

Last week, a Juventus site reported that the Old Lady were resigned to the fact that Tielemans would be going to Arsenal and so we find a few days later in the Sunday Mirror, they are making a similar claim.

Are the two linked?

It’s impossible to say as the Mirror don’t detail where their information comes from but given how these things work, I wouldn’t be surprised.

In fact, as the Mirror even write, “Arsenal are understood to be in pole position to land Tielemans then, after reports that Juventus’ interest in the Belgium star has cooled,” I’d be inclined to say that’s exactly where their information is coming from.

It was only after doing this for a few years that I realised a lot of the ‘stories’ top journalists land come from the same place I find them – the foreign media.

Speaking while on international duty with Belgium, Tielemans explained why he had stayed at Leicester. He said, “I’m happy to get a bit of fresh air here [with Belgium] because it’s tough at Leicester right now.

“It’s clear that things are not going well at the club. We are doing everything we can as a team.

“At Leicester, the consecutive defeats have affected us as a group. We need to benefit from this break to recharge our batteries. It’s hard to get it off my mind as it keeps running through my head. Only my kids sometimes prevent me from thinking about it.

“I’m not going to speak too much about my contract situation at the moment,” he added.

“I didn’t leave Leicester in the summer as I always said the project had to be the right one.

“Just because things are getting worse now at Leicester doesn’t mean I should regret [staying].”

Tielemans has two goals and an assist in 14 Premier League games this season. Leicester are currently in 18th place two points above the bottom with 11, having won just three games.

Leicester paid £40.5m in 2019 to sign Tielemans from Monaco, a value he still holds.