Arsenal have offered four players in a player-plus-cash deal for Leicester City star James Maddison, football.london understands.
The Gunners are exploring other options to try and lower the £60m price tag on the 24-year-old's head and football.london understands that the Gunners have offered one of Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah as makeweights in the deal for the Foxes midfielder.
However, it is understood that Leicester are not interested in taking any of Arsenal's players, and would prefer a cash only deal for Maddison, who is open to moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are determined to bring a creative midfielder to the club before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Maddison is at the 'top of the list' for the Gunners, but negotiations are 'very slow' as it stands, as football.london reported on Tuesday morning.
Martin Odegaard remains an option for Mikel Arteta and Edu, with the Real Madrid man understood to be concerned at his role in the Spanish capital, with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro set to be Carlo Ancelotti 's first-choice options in midfield.
At the time of writing, though, Arsenal are pursuing a deal for Maddison, but the asking price could prove to be the sticking point for the north London club, with the Foxes not interested in a swap for the England international.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, speaking a few days ago, insisted Maddison was happy at the King Power Stadium despite interest from Arsenal.
"In conversations with the club, we don’t have to sell. That’s something that’s been made clear," Rodgers said.
"The players want to stay. It's a really exciting time at the club.
"There’s lots of gossip and speculation around but I’m loving working with the guys here, they love being here, and we certainly have no need to sell.
"So I would suspect we’re looking to keep our best players."
