Kevin Campbell urges Arsenal to sign £25m midfielder instead of James Maddison

Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has backed the Gunners to sign Youri Tielemans ahead of his Leicester City teammate James Maddison this summer.

Tielemans is expected to leave Leicester City this summer when he will have just a year remaining on his current contract.

Arsenal are among the Premier League clubs who have been linked with a move, while recent reports have claimed that Leicester would be willing to accept a £25 million transfer fee.

Arsenal were also keen on signing Maddison from Leicester last summer but the Foxes were demanding a transfer fee in excess of £70m.

Campbell, who played for Arsenal for seven years, believes Tielemans is the midfielder who Mikel Arteta will target as his team are already well stocked in the attacking midfield position after bringing in Martin Odegaard last summer for £30m.

Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell said: ‘I think Youri Tielemans is the one they will be looking at.

‘I could be wrong on that but I think the ship has sailed with Maddison. We have Odegaard now so spending another £50 million on an attacking midfielder, I just don’t see it.

‘Tielemans is a player Arsenal need. He has a different game to Maddison.

‘I’m sure Arteta will see him as our type of player. For me, Tielemans is the one and I hope we can get that deal done in the summer.’

Since being signed by manager Brendan Rodgers in 2019, Tielemans has become one of the most sought-after midfielders in the Premier League.

Over the last two seasons, the Belgian has played a significant part in the Foxes’ successive fifth place finishes and scored the winning goal for the club in their FA Cup triumph over Chelsea at Wembley last year.

A move to a bigger team has been touted for Tielemans who may need to