The manager of Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers has hinted that he might lose his central midfielder, Youri Tielemans and he has to start preparing for life without the Belgian football star.
Youri Tielemans has been at Leicester City since January 31, 2019, first on loan from Monaco and then on a permanent deal which cost Leicester a whopping €45 million. Since then, he has remained the most expensive Leicester City signing in the history of the club.
His current contract with Leicester City will expire on June 30, 2023. In the over two seasons that Tielemans has spent at the Premier League club, the 24-year-old midfielder has scored 23 goals and provided 22 assists in 131 games.
Due to how important he has been for Leicester City, the club has been trying to extend the contract of the Belgium international even though there are still about 18 months left before the expiration of the contract.
As the club is trying to extend his stay at the club, other top European clubs are trying to steal him away. The biggest speculation about the midfielder is that he is linked with a move to Arsenal.
However, at the time of publishing this report, it is not clear whether he would leave Leicester City during the January transfer window or wait until the summer transfer window.
Recall that the January transfer window has been opened since January 1 and will close on January 31. If Tielemans manage to remain at the club during that period, Leicester would continue to try to convince him to stay.
Ahead of Leicester City Premier League game against Burnley scheduled to kick off at 16:00 on Saturday, January 15, 2022, coach Brendan Rodgers said Tielemans has not agreed to renew his contract with Leicester because the player is still considering his options.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Belgian midfielder, Rodgers stressed that he would keep developing the football star and try to keep him focused.
The coach said: “He is at an age and at a stage in his contract where he has to ensure he looks at every option. I would love it to be here at Leicester, that is natural, but I understand it’s a very short career.
“For players, it’s about ambition, the challenge and sometimes it’s about a different environment. We have seen it before many times.
“Teams have won the Champions League and the player will move on. That’s the nature of it. For me, I can only worry about keeping improving him as a player, keeping him focused, and letting everything else be taken care of.
“We have a close relationship, it’s really strong. I committed to him when I first came in that we would improve him as a player and he believes in the environment.
“Once the player is committed, focused, and professional it’s never a worry for me. With Youri you can see his joy of being here, he loves being here and you have to respect these guys’ careers are short.”
Youri Tielemans has made 23 appearances in all competitions for Leicester City so far this season in which he scored 6 goals and three assists. If Leicester lose him this January or in the summer, coach Brendan Rodgers would have to find a midfielder who can be as productive as the Belgian footballer.
“You always have to, that is key”, the coach said. “I have said it before about the pipeline of players. You always have to be looking ahead, that’s important. Sometimes it happens unexpectedly.
“Other times you know where the situation is at. We will always look for the type of player who suits how we work, it’s always been the case and it will be the same with any player in any position.
“If we are going to lose one we have to be ready for the next one to come in.”
Brendan Rodgers provided an update on Leicester's transfer business and the future of their star midfielder ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/wITZYTJymq
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) January 13, 2022
