Arsenal working to buy Youri Tielemans as Fábio Vieira deal confirmed by Porto

Arsenal are continuing to work on a deal to sign Youri Tielemans from Leicester after reaching an agreement to buy Fábio Vieira from Porto, who confirmed in a statement on Friday that they had accepted a bid.

Porto said Arsenal would pay €40m (£34m), including €5m in performance-related add-ons. The Portuguese club said the transfer was “expected to be concluded in the next few days”.

Vieira is a 22-year-old attacking midfielder, who scored six goals and provided 14 assists in Portugal’s top division in the 2021-22 season, but his arrival has not changed Arsenal’s plans regarding Tielemans.

Leicester are braced for an offer from Arsenal for the 25-year-old, who has one more year on his contract. Tielemans plays in a deeper role than Vieira, most of the Belgium international’s 50 appearances for Leicester in the most recent campaign coming in a central midfield.

Manchester City have made Kalvin Phillips their preferred option to replace Fernandinho after the Brazil international’s departure. Phillips has spent his whole career at Leeds and broke into the England team in 2020.

City are targeting Brighton’s Marc Cucurella in another priority position, left-back, and have no intention of loaning Julián Álvarez, the 22-year-old forward who is arriving from River Plate this summer.