Newcastle United reportedly want to sign Youri Tielemans this month, and Brendan Rodgers has suggested that Leicester should sell the midfielder.
Eddie Howe is keen to bring in the Belgian following an injury to Jonjo Shelvey. The Magpies are currently light of options in the middle of the park, and the Toon boss is hoping to sign someone who can play in the ‘number six’ role.
Tielemans fits the bill, and is someone the club are interested in according to the Telegraph. Brighton’s Moises Caicedo is another target, but a deal for the Ecuadorian could prove to be expensive.
In contrast, Tielemans will be available for a lot less than the £60milion Caicedo is valued at. The Leicester captain’s contract is set to expire at the King Power Stadium, with Tielemans on course to become a free agent at the end of the season.
It has left Leicester in a tricky situation, and now Rodgers has addressed the issue ahead of the Foxes’ FA Cup clash with Gillingham.
Rodgers on Leicester’s expiring contracts
Rodgers has spoke to the Athletic during his pre-match press conference, and was asked whether the club will sell any of their players who are in the final six months of their current deals. Tielemans is one of seven first-team players whose contracts end this summer.
“I think that if someone doesn’t want to be here or someone wants too much money to be here, we have to be brave enough to say ‘listen, thank you very much and on you go’, because we are not a club with masses of resources that can facilitate every single players need, especially from a financial side,” Rodgers said.
“A number of these guys are down to their last year. We said before we’d like them to stay but there has to be a point in time when what they want is too demanding for us as a club and if the time is right, they have to move on, then we have to do that and then look forward.”
Hopefully Leicester do decide to sell Tielemans
Rodgers’ comments could open the door for Newcastle to make a move for Tielemans.
There have been no suggestions that he will sign a new contract, while he was heavily linked with a move away at the start of the season. Arsenal wanted him, but pulled out of a deal due to his excessive wage demands.
Those wage demands appear to be what is stopping him from staying at Leicester, but will they prevent him from joining Newcastle too?
The 25-year-old is a long-term target. He has been linked in every transfer window since the change of ownership. The hierarchy are clearly a fan of his, and believe he could be top player at St James’ Park.
Fans will share that sentiment. While he has struggled this season, Tielemans has proven at Leicester that he is a top Premier League midfielder, and he could really thrive in this exciting Newcastle team.
He would add something different to our midfield, and has been described as ‘special‘ by his former teammate Wes Morgan. The £32million man has the ability to score from range, while he can dictate a game from deep and allow Bruno Guimaraes to play higher up the pitch.
Rodgers has suggested that some of his out-of-contract players should be moved on this month, and Tielemans could fall into that bracket. If that is the case then Newcastle must be ready to pounce, or at least test the waters.
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