Youri Tielemans’ wage demands could be a problem for Newcastle United this summer, according to Luke Edwards.
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The Belgian has been touted as a potential target after the signings of Matt Targett, Nick Pope and Sven Botman.
One of the most in-demand talents in Europe upon his initial breakthrough into the Anderlect team as a teenager, the 25-year-old fits the kind of profile of player Newcastle have previously targeted in the PIF era.
Hugely experienced in the Premier League and into the final year of his contract, the former Monaco star would appear to be a fairly natural target.
Why would Newcastle not sign Tielemans?
As attracting an addition as the Belgium star would be, midfield does not exactly look like a priority.
Eddie Howe has largely adopted a three-man engine room sine he was appointed back in November and Joelinton’s successful transformation into a box-to-box midfielder has surely made him one of the first names on the team-sheet. Bruno Guimaraes, meanwhile, has made a wonderful impact since his arrival while Jonjo Shelvey has been talked up by the head coach.
Sean Longstaff has been handed a new deal and there is also Joe Willock to consider, meaning five players are currently battling it out for three spots.
According to Edwards, it “seems very unlikely he will join” despite Newcastle’s admiration, with the bulk of the remaining budget likely to be spent on a new forward.
Is this a good decision?
Absolutely.
Given Edwards has pointed out the fact Tielemans’ wage demands would be a “problem”, risking upsetting team harmony on a player not even guaranteed a start would seem counter-intuitive to Howe’s desire to keep the wage structure in tact during the January window.
It’s hard to doubt Tielemans’ quality, but the money remaining in this window should be spent on signing the striker Newcastle identified they needed before the end of last season.
