Loaned by Leicester City until the end of the season after the return of Leonardo Jardim at Monaco, Youri Tielemans has quickly endeared himself to the King Power Stadium faithful with his first few performances, scoring one goal and assisting twice in his first six appearances.
Bought by the principality side from Anderlecht, the Belgian midfielder didn’t have the groundbreaking season many expected him to, and he quickly fell out of favour under the Portuguese.
Eventually, Jardim’s comeback after three woeful months under Thierry Henry led to a temporary January move being sorted, and Leicester jumping at the opportunity.
Speaking to Sport/Foot, the young starlet explained what has changed, and why he feels Leicester might be a better fit for him.
He said: “The team plays well, I have players around me that have a lot of qualities. I just have to adapt to my new environment. In France, it’s quite a physical, static game. In England, things move all the time, there’s quite a lot of space.
“I’m lucky to have a forward (Vardy) who dives into space. As soon as there’s an opening, you can be sure he’ll be there. It’s very easy to play with that type of player. I just have to feed him good balls. The fact that I’m playing higher up means I have more freedom. I feel I have more space to express myself, to give the assist or tee up a shot.”
As for what the future holds for him, with British newspapers stating Leicester would need to spend €45m to acquire his services permanently, Tielemans is rather reserved for the time being.
He said: “It’s very flattering. We’ll see in the summer, but for now, I’m not thinking about that.”
