Tottenham Hotspur chose not to pursue Youri Tielemans.
According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Tottenham Hotspur considered Youri Tielemans, but had ‘other priorities’ in the transfer market – presumably new signing Tanguy Ndombele.
Tielemans, 22, went on loan to Leicester City in January after falling down the Monaco pecking order, and he starred with three goals and four assists in 13 games for the Foxes.
That unsurprisingly sparked massive interest in the Belgian ace, but Leicester have managed to secure his signature in a club-record deal worth £40million (BBC).
That’s seen as a massive signing for Leicester, fending off top English clubs for the former Anderlecht man, but it seems that Tottenham decided against a move.
It’s believed that Tottenham had ‘other priorities’ to focus on, and that points towards Mauricio Pochettino deciding on a move for Ndomele over Tielemans.
That was something of a gamble. Spurs will have known that Tielemans was available for £40million, whereas Ndombele was a much more difficult negotiation, with Lyon demanding huge money.
Still, Pochettino pressed on with a move for Ndombele, seemingly believing that he was perfect for the role in his midfield, even more so than Tielemans, who isn’t quite as athletically gifted as Ndombele.
On the face of it, £40million for Tielemans could have been ideal for Tottenham, but Pochettino steadfastly stuck with his idea of signing Ndombele – and he played it perfectly, landing Tottenham’s top target whilst ignoring what could have been a fine signing.
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