Arsenal are readying a surprising £14million winter bid for the highly-rated midfielder in Youri Tielemans as an attempt to back Francis Coquelin up, according to reports from Italian media outlet Calciomercatoweb.

Gunners faithfuls were furious with Arsene Wenger over his decision to not buy a senior outfield player in the summer, even though he brought in several teenagers with massive potential.

However, he may be forgiven for breaking the bank for the 17-year-old as he has already notched up 92 appearances for Champions League regulars in Anderlecht.

Arsenal already have another defensive midfielder Krystian Bielik in his age group fighting for a first-team breakthrough, but the Belgium youth international is tipped to emulate Steven Gerrard as he also has an eye for the goal, having been involved in 26 goals in his club career.

Although the central midfield is packed with rising talents as well as proven stars, his arrival could mean meaningful business as he might even go on to replace Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky, who are not getting any younger, in the long term.

However, the road would not be easy for the London outfit as he has only recently penned a five-year-contract with the Jupiler Pro League club. In addition, they will also have to beat high-spenders Chelsea and Liverpool for his signature.