Leicester City are close to completing a transfer deadline day loan deal for Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans, according to BBC Sport – but where are Tottenham in chasing the Belgian?
The gifted central midfielder has been on the radar of scouts of major clubs for a number of years, but his time in France in a struggling Principality outfit has not gone to plan.
While it has been widely publicised that Tottenham were unlikely to splash the cash mid-season, signing someone of Tielemans’ quality on a loan deal seems like a no-brainer.
Although the lack of fit forwards in the Spurs squad has been flavour of the month in the press of late, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have also been short in central midfield.
The sale of Mousa Dembele and injuries to the likes of Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama has meant Tottenham have not been able to rotate in the boiler room.
Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko have both performed admirably but the pair have been asked to play almost every game and the pair have had their injury niggles as a result. Both have also looked very fatigued at times in recent weeks.
Tielemans is full of ability, has sublime technique, a superb range of passing and has the potential to develop into a top-drawer player.
Bringing the 21-year-old to North London, even if it didn’t work out, would have been a decision to bolster Pochettino’s options.
Tielemans surely has the calibre to succeed in the Premier League – if he does at Leicester, Tottenham will be kicking themselves for not making a move this week.