Arsenal target and Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans is 'ready and available' to sign, according to transfer insider Dean Jones. 

The lowdown: 'Top target'

Recently, journalist Pete O'Rourke claimed that the Gunners had made Tielemans, valued at £25m, the 'top target' this summer as Mikel Arteta and Edu attempt to strengthen the squad at the Emirates Stadium.

Despite the strong interest, there has been little in the way of progress when it comes to a swoop for the 25-year-old Belgium international and instead, moves for the likes of Arthur Melo and Lucas Paqueta appear to be further down the line.

Following a report from talkSPORT claiming that the north Londoners were holding off on making a bid due to concerns over Tielemans' physicality, one knowledgeable transfer expert has shed some light on the situation...

The latest: 'Ready and available'

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones - who writes for Eurosport - claimed that there could be more to the lack of activity for the 52-cap star than meets the eye.

He said: “Tielemans has been sat there ready and available for weeks and weeks now.

"And they’ve even had negotiations on what it would take to sign him, the kind of agreement that would need to be in place. Arsenal know that and can do that.

"The fact they haven’t done it does raise some doubt in my mind over quite whether he is the player they still want. So I would edge towards Paqueta at this stage.”

The verdict: What's the hold up?

Considering the sheer amount of noise that has perennially linked Arsenal to Tielemans, it seems strange that no official move has been forthcoming.

However, reputable Italian journalist, Fabrizio Romano recently refuted the apparent fitness issue, claiming that there were no such concerns from the Gunners' perspective.

Last season, Tielemans - who would 'walk into any midfield in England and elevate it' according to Sunday Times football correspondent Jonathan Northcroft - directly contributed to 12 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions for Leicester, missing just six matches due to a calf problem and completing 90 minutes on 39 occasions.

That durability and indeed form would suggest that there aren't any glaring issues when it comes to the prolonged availability of the cultured £49.5million valued Belgian and therefore the current reluctance to strike a deal could well be down to a matter of preference from Edu and co.