Declan Rice is going to be the talk of the transfer market in the summer but if things go according to plan then Youri Tielemans won’t be too far behind.
The 24-year-old has been tipped to leave Leicester City for close to a year now and in a recent interview, Brendan Rodgers has openly admitted that the 24-year-old might look to secure an exit in the summer.
“We are real as a football club. You’ll get people asking if we can hang on to these players for the next six or seven years,” Rodgers told Sky Sports, as quoted.
“But the reality is that if a player does really well at Leicester, he may want to leave and move on to another club. For us, it’s just about being ready for that.”
Signing a new contract with Leicester City?
The midfielder has less than 18 months left on his current deal with Leicester and it’s no secret that the Foxes are trying really hard to make him sign a new deal.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Youri Tielemans seems to have made up his mind since he’s refusing to put pen on paper to a new contract.
“Youri Tielemans has definitely decided not to sign a new deal with Leicester, they’ve been offering him a new contract for a long time,” he said on his Youtube channel, as per Leicester Mercury.
Which clubs are interested in signing Youri Tielemans?
The fact that Youri Tielemans is rejecting a new deal clearly suggests that he is going to push for an exit in the summer so the old suitors will definitely come back for him.
Teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Man City and Chelsea have already been linked with him for over a year and fresh reports suggest that Spurs are also keeping tabs on him.
Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal have all been linked with Leicester City midfielder Youri Tieleman, and it now appears the former Anderlecht man will not stay with the Foxes beyond his current deal which expires in 2023.#tielemans pic.twitter.com/iDigtbzjzo
— The Transfer Exchange Show (@TheTransferEx) February 13, 2022
Will Youri Tielemans be a cheaper alternative to Declan Rice?
Several of the abovementioned clubs will also try and sign Declan Rice in the summer but since the England international’s contract does not end any time soon, West Ham are going to demand a massive transfer fee for him.
And this is why several of these sides could shift their focus to Youri Tielemans since his contract with Leicester expires in 2023.
There’s no way the Foxes can demand a massive fee for his exit and this is sure to entice teams like Arsenal and Spurs. Chelsea, Man City and Manchester United have the financial power to sign someone like Declan Rice but that does not mean they won’t test the waters for Tielemans.