Manchester United are unlikely to make a cut-price move for Leicester City’s soon-to-be free-agent midfielder Youri Tielemans before the January transfer window slams shut.
According to a report from journalist Dean Jones (via Give Me Sport), Manchester United are weighing up a bargain summer swoop for Leicester City’s wantaway midfielder Youri Tielemans.
Journalist Jones said to GMS, “With Tielemans, it’s probably a similar situation to why Arsenal won’t spend any money on him. The player is going to become available on a free at the end of the season. If they really want him, they could probably see that out.
“I know he wouldn’t cost a fortune right now, but ultimately the message out of Man Utd is that they don’t have money to spend at the moment.”
Tielemans joined the Foxes in the January window of 2019 from AS Monaco, initially on loan. The playmaker has caught a lot of people’s eyes with his stellar performances over the years, pulling the strings for Leicester from the middle of the park.
The Belgium international has been one of the best players for the East Midlands club during his tenure, having made over 182 appearances for the Foxes, and chipping in with 28 goals and 25 assists in the process.
However, Tielemans is out of contract in the summer and looks unlikely to pen an extension. He’s also free to negotiate and agree to a pre-contract agreement with any clubs outside of England this month.
As such, he has been available for a transfer away since last summer. And despite links with Arsenal and Newcastle, Tielemans, surprisingly, ended up staying at the King Power Stadium, with no suitors coming forward with a lucrative enough proposal to tempt Leicester into selling their prized asset well before his contract expiration.
Despite the huge uncertainty over his future, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has continued to select his 2021 FA Cup match-winner, whose performances have been key in their relegation battle. Given his contract situation, it’s being reported that Leicester could be looking to recoup some of the money invested in signing him from Ligue 1 in the first place.
Arsenal, for one, have been long-term admirers of the Foxes’ Belgian international midfielder but have never elected to make a concrete push to take him to north London.
Reports have suggested they are prepared to wait longer to sign Youri Tielemans on a free transfer and will only come forward with a late bid this month after assessing other options, but this could be a risky strategy with Manchester United now allegedly in the race for a summer move as well.
The Red Devils were left light in the midfield department after midfielder Donny van de Beek sustained a knee injury in United’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth earlier this month, which will see him miss the rest of the season, leaving boss Erik ten Hag scrambling for a replacement.
Even when everyone’s fit, there’s a real lack of quality cover behind Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, with Fred and Scott McTominay incapable of holding their own. Ideally, they could have used Tielemans this month.
