Newcastle United transfer target Youri Tielemans dominated in Leicester City’s 4-0 win against the Magpies at the King Power Stadium.
When Newcastle’s lucrative takeover finally went through, the Mail reported that although player recruitment was at an early stage, the calibre of signing the new owners will target would be Leicester’s Belgian star, who is out of contract in the summer of 2023.
The 24-year-old had missed Leicester’s last four Premier League games with a calf injury, but after coming through Thursday’s Europa League clash against Napoli unscathed, Brendan Rodgers started Tielemans in the clash against Eddie Howe’s side.
It’s clear that the former Monaco midfielder is an integral part of the FA Cup winners’ side, and he was a cut above Newcastle on Sunday afternoon, opening the scoring with a penalty before adding a clinical second.
Joe Willock and Jonjo Shelvey couldn’t lay a glove on Leicester’s number eight and it was a glaring reminder of the gulf in glass Newcastle are currently having to contend with, when competing against some of the Premier League’s best sides.
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Tielemans a class act that Newcastle would love to have
Despite only just returning from injury, Tielemans didn’t look off the pace whatsoever, instead he dictated the tempo of the match and produced an all-action midfield display that will have highlighted the quality of player PIF want to attract to St James’ Park.
It’s no disrespect to Shelvey and Willock, but attracting players in a similar ilk to Tielemans is the direction in which the club’s new owners want to go.
Tielemans finished the game with 73 touches, the most in the Leicester side. Shelvey (74) and Fabian Schar (80) were the only players to have more touches than Tielemans, but it was the quality in possession which made the man – capped 47 times for Belgium – come away from the game with his stock being even higher.
Tielemans opened the scoring with a penalty into the top corner which gave Martin Dubravka no chance. His second goal showcased his box-to-box midfielder qualities, running from deep and smashing the ball home.
The 24-year-old is extremely hardworking out of possession which complements his all-round game and he finished the match with five tackles, three clearances and one interception.
Newcastle are very much engulfed in a relegation battle, but Tieleman’s performance was a reminder of the calibre of player the club will be aspiring to attract in the future.
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