Arsenal have reportedly identified Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Leandro Paredes as a suitable alternative to Leicester City's Youri Tielemans.
Tielemans was believed to have been the Gunners' top midfield target in the summer window, but a move to the Emirates did not materialize for the 25-year-old.
Tielemans has now entered the final year of his contract with the Foxes, though, and Arsenal have been expected to reignite their interest in the Belgium international in 2023.
However, the Gunners would not be alone in the race to sign Tielemans as a free agent, with Liverpool and Real Madrid also tipped to do battle for his signature.
Furthermore, Leicester chiefs are confident of agreeing a new contract with the midfielder, according to the Daily Mail, which could force Arsenal to scope out alternatives.
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According to football.london, Arsenal have earmarked Paredes as their top alternative to Tielemans, with the Argentine joining Juventus on loan from PSG in the summer.
Arsenal were supposedly interested in a deal for Paredes before he made the move to Serie A, but he has not been able to make much of an impact under Massimiliano Allegri thus far.
Paredes has registered one assist from 13 appearances in a Juventus shirt in all competitions, but he has only started three Serie A matches for the Bianconeri.
Youngsters such as Nicolo Fagioli and Fabio Miretti have been preferred by Allegri in recent weeks, and it seems unlikely that Juve will trigger their option to make the deal permanent next summer.
The 28-year-old is therefore expected to return to PSG for the 2023-24 season, but his contract with the French champions now has fewer than two years' left to run.
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With Les Parisiens restocking their midfield with the signings of Vitinha, Carlos Soler, Renato Sanches and Fabian Ruiz over the summer, Paredes's chances of reigniting his PSG career are slim.
The report adds that Christophe Galtier's side could therefore consider a cut-price sale in 2023, ending Paredes's time in Paris four-and-a-half years after his arrival from Zenit St Petersburg.
The midfielder has scored three goals and set up 10 more in 117 games for the capital club in all tournaments, and he won his third Ligue 1 title with the club in the 2021-22 season.
Paredes started in Argentina's World Cup 2022 Group C opener with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, winning the penalty for Lionel Messi's goal, but he was taken off after 59 minutes as La Albiceleste suffered a shock 2-1 loss.
Lionel Scaloni's side will be aiming to get back on track when they meet Mexico on Saturday before finishing off Group C against Poland on November 30.
Ben Knapton
