OPINION
Newcastle United should revive their interest in Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans in the summer, with the 21-year-old proving himself to be a fine Premier League player while on loan at Leicester.
Tielemans joined the Foxes on a temporary deal from Monaco in the January transfer window, but the Magpies were also keen on signing the playmaker as HLN reporter Kristof Terreur claimed via his personal Twitter account that the Tyneside club had made contact.
Newcastle’s attempts to sign Tielemans obviously didn’t work and the midfielder headed to Leicester, where he has since made seven appearances in the Premier League, scoring one goal and supplying four assists in the process.
Tielemans has been involved in a goal in each of Leicester’s last five league fixtures and it is clear that the 21-year-old is someone who can be a real star, not only in the future, but right away if Newcastle were to reignite their hunt to sign him in January.
Belgian newspaper HLN has recently reported that Leicester do not have an option to buy Tielemans on a permanent deal in the summer and Monaco want £38.4million for the Belgium international.
Leicester are said to be willing to pay that much for the former Anderlecht star while it is understood that Manchester United and Tottenham are also keen on signing him.
If Newcastle want to really push on and stop their fans from being worried about relegation every season then they need to have a real go at signing players like Tielemans, who is quite simply better than every central midfielder currently on the books at St James’ Park.
We are talking about someone who could be worth £100million in several years if he continues to play well in the Premier League.
Mike Ashley must see that signing the 21-year-old is a worthwhile investment, even if it does mean shattering the club’s current transfer record.
Newcastle will forever be trying to avoid the bottom-three if their owner does not show the ambition to sign a player as good as Tielemans.
