Leicester City permanently added midfielder Youri Tielemans on Wednesday for a reported £40 million. The midfielder spent the second half of last season on loan at the King Power Stadium playing 12 matches and scoring three goals.
Tielemans had garnered interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal this offseason. However, the Belgian gave up on a possible deal and joined Leicester City on a permanent basis following last season’s loan spell.
The 22-year-old powerful midfielder has signed a four-year contract adding further strength to Brendan Rodgers’ squad.
Youri Tielemans on the attack
Tielemans scored three goals in 12 matches for the Foxes last season. He also added three assists during his half-season loan.
Both parts of his game were lacking at Monaco, where he spent the first part of the 2018-19 season. Rodgers can bring out the best attacking qualities in the Belgian and will hope he can continue the form shown last spring.
At Monaco, Tielemans failed to fulfil his potential and struggled in the first half of the season. Monaco fought relegation and it didn’t help the midfielder’s development. Nor did manager Leonardo Jardim’s dislike of the player help matters.
Although Tielemans did score four times for Monaco last season, he looked more comfortable at Leicester City from January on.
How does Tielemans stack up?
Last summer, Leicester City signed James Maddison from Norwich City. Despite being wholly praised for his play, Maddison went missing for large chunks of the Premier League season.
At one point, the attacking midfielder went 14 games without a goal. That hasn’t stopped Maddison from being linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium to the likes of Liverpool.
Maddison’s flaws showed at times for Leicester City but he still managed to score 137 Fantasy Premier League points.
Impressively, Tieleman’s bagged 63 FPL points in just 12 matches. The midfielder tallied 5.25 points a game for FPL managers.
According to football scouting website WyScout.com, Tielemans’ attacking numbers were just as good, if not better, than Maddison’s figures in several attacking categories.
Tielemans can be a frustrating player, however. That is most likely why Monaco gave up on the Belgian in the first place. In January of this year, Leonardo Jardim actively sought a team to take Tielemans off his hands.
Monaco’s loss could be Leicester City’s gain this season as their new £40m midfielder could play a big part in the new season. FPL managers should be quite excited to see just what the Belgian can do in a full season.
