Arsenal's chances of signing James Maddison this summer may have been dented.
And that's thanks to Premier League rivals Liverpool and their own reported pursuit of a Leicester City player which appears to have been boosted if Belgian outlet Voetbal24 are to be believed.
They claim that Youri Tielemans, scorer of last season's FA Cup final winner against Chelsea, is keen to push through the move to Anfield.
Furthermore, the report states that the Reds are willing to meet Leicester's asking price of £64m as Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his midfield options in an attempt to wrestle back the league title from Manchester City.
Should Tielemans get his wish to join Liverpool, one would have to question whether Arsenal still have a chance of swooping for Maddison.
The 24-year-old has emerged as a serious target for the Gunners this summer after missing out on a deal to sign Emiliano Buendia as well as Martin Odegaard's decision to stay at Real Madrid.
There has been some encouraging news on that front, as according to the reliable @TheAFCBell on Twitter, Maddison's camp are expecting an approach from the north London outfit this week.
Whilst it has also been revealed that an 'offer' of a four-year contract is already on the table where Maddison would double his wages.
And as reported by football.london last month, Mikel Arteta is an admirer of Maddison, although, the one major sticking point for Arsenal is Leicester's demands of over £60million.
However, Tielemans to Liverpool could provide another sticking point for the Gunners.
Considering the Belgian and Maddison are two key players for Brendan Rodgers, it seems unlikely that the Foxes would be willing to let them both leave in the same window.
So it might be a race between Arsenal and Liverpool to reach an agreement with Leicester for their respective targets.
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