Fabrizio Romano may have handed Manchester United a major boost in their reported pursuit of Leicester City star Youri Tielemans.
Speaking on the United Stand, Romano claimed there’s virtually zero chance Tielemans will extend his stay at the King Power.
The Belgium international’s contract expires in June 2023, with plenty of outside suitors intrigued to see whether he renews his deal before then.
Questions over the 24-year-old’s future have continued to be thrown in Brendan Rodgers’ direction. Rodgers was queried again about the stance of his star midfielder only a few days ago.
“With his contract running down, I’m pretty sure there will be teams looking at him – but I’m also a realist as well,” the Leicester manager told the Express.
“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 but, the reality is, 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.”
This declaration sounds like one of defeat – the Foxes have all but conceded Tielemans won’t be part of their squad next season.
While the 2015/16 Premier League champions despair over the Belgian, rival clubs must be rubbing their hands with glee. Especially Manchester United, who have been linked to the former Monaco man for some time.
Leicester losing linchpin
Arguably the area of the Red Devils squad that needs the most attention is the middle of the park. And there are few better central patrollers in the Premier League than Leicester’s number eight.
Now, the wishes of the Old Trafford hierarchy could be answered following the latest update on Tielemans.
“I was speaking about the situation with my sources a few days ago. They told me 100 per cent Tielemans will not sign a new deal with Leicester,” Romano claimed.
“It means he will leave the club in the summer 99.99 per cent – because they don’t want to lose the player as a free agent in 2023.
“We have to understand about the price because (Leicester) were always asking for about £60 million for Tielemans and now, maybe because of this contract situation, £45 million to £50 million could be the price for Tielemans in the summer.”
Tielemans to the Theatre of Dreams?
Considering the money United have spent on other positions recently – and their desperation to land a new midfielder – they could easily throw £45 million at Leicester for Tielemans.
A player of his quality and age don’t come for much cheaper, therefore Ralf Rangnick’s employers would be wise to jump at this opportunity. Perhaps Harry Maguire might be able to persuade his former teammate to jump ship, although the defender’s recent form could cause the opposite effect.
Either way, expect United to make some kind of move towards Tielemans at the end of the season, along with a host of other interested parties.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
