Leicester City sign Belgian starlet Youri Tielemans on loan from AS Monaco

Leicester City have completed the loan signing of Youri Tielemans from AS Monaco. In completely-related news, Foxes’ midfield Adrien Silva is moving to the Stade Louis II in on loan until the end of the season.

Who is Youri Tielemans?

Tielemans is a 21-year old central midfielder. He’s not an “attacking midfielder”. He’s not a “defensive midfielder” (although he has played in that role from time to time). He’s a proper central midfielder. He’s earned 19 caps with the Belgium senior squad and featured prominently in the 2018 World Cup.

Is he any good?

Why yes, yes he is. While Monaco are having a genuinely disastrous season, Tielemans has arguably been their best player. He scored 5 goals for Les Monégasques, second only to Radamel Falcao. Also, that’s a pretty strong Belgium side he turns out for as well. These videos are always a little...overwrought...but he seems to have some skills, doesn’t he?

What will he bring to Leicester?

Primarily, a link between the midfield and the attack. I love a good crunching challenge from a defensive midfielder as much as the next guy, but let’s face it: Ndidi, Mendy, and Choudhury aren’t particularly adept at the art of passing. Tielemans has the ability to launch an attack from a deep position which should keep Maddison from having to drop so deep to pick up the ball.

He also likes to shoot from distance, but he wouldn’t be a City midfielder if he didn’t.

Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Do we have an option to buy?

That’s the question, isn’t it? Depending on the person you ask, the answer is either “no”, or “sort of”. The “sort of” is a rumored option to match any bid Monaco receives this summer, but we don’t have any confirmation of this.

The most-dependable sources suggest that there is no option of any sort. In that case, we are helping Monaco’s cause by putting Tielemans in the shop window for a potential summer transfer. Conversely, they are helping us out by taking Adrien Silva who was clearly unhappy the amount of playing time (none) he was getting for Leicester.

So is this a good deal?

Maybe? Tielemans is an exciting player and I think he addresses a need for Leicester. But, we don’t really have anything to play for right now, do we? With 14 matches remaining, we’re 11th on the table on 32 points. We’re 13 points above the drop zone, so we’re not likely to be relegated. We’re only 3 points out of 7th, which will probably be good enough to get us into the Europa League, but there are 4 teams we have to overcome to get there. Also, take a look at Burnley: Are we sure we want to qualify for the Europa League next year?

For me, it comes down to whether or not this materially increases our chances of signing him on a permanent basis this summer. I’m not encouraged by the lack of an option to buy at any price; that suggests we may just be a stepping stone. But, if he plays well and if we can buy him this summer? Then it’s a great deal.

What do you think? Was this a good signing for the Foxes?