Leicester on the verge of closing the deal with Ainsley Maitland-Niles

are keen on signing a loan contract with

’s

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

. The 23-year-old will most likely leave the Emirates Stadium before the transfer deadline.

Among the

clubs interested in the England international are

,

, and

. However, Leicester are about to win the race for putting pen to paper in signing Maitland-Niles.

Since he desires to play regularly before the European Championship, staying at Arsenal will not meet his needs.

Notwithstanding him considering himself a midfield player,

Mikel Arteta

has used Maitland-Niles as a full-back and wing-back.

The reason behind him not moving to Southampton was that they saw him as a full-back. The 23-year-old has two-and-a-half years left on his deal with Arsenal and Leicester’s offer to have him on a loan deal with an option to buy seems appealing to Mikel Arteta’s side.

“

Well, there are some conversations at the moment going on

," Arteta said. "

I spoke with all of the players about their own situation because they are all aware of the minutes that they are playing and they want to improve their situation. 

"I am willing to help them. Some of them the club is willing to help them and we will try to find a solution at the end. But I don’t know whether it’s going to be the case or not."

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