Pundit David Meyler has recently tipped Youri Tielemans to replace Georginio Wijnaldum at Liverpool.
Meyler recently appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the OTB Football podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Premier League and Scottish football. Meyler was asked about Tielemans, his abilities and whether he can fit in at Liverpool. The former player feels that the Belgian would be a potential replacement for Wijnaldum.
Tielemans had arrived at Leicester City initially on a loan deal from Monaco in January 2019, but the Foxes signed him permanently in the summer of 2019. Before he moved to Leicester, Man Utd were interested in the Belgian.
Would Tielemans be a good replacement for Wijnaldum?
Yes
No
In the current campaign, Tielemans has scored six goals, while getting three assists in the Premier League for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Meyler hailed Tielemans’ abilities and he’d love to see how he will perform at a bigger club. He also tipped him to replace Wijnaldum, whose contract runs out in the summer of 2021.
Meyler said (1:40) “I think he’s a wonderful talent as a player. And like I said, he’s only 23 years of age, he’s only going to get better and better. And certainly, I would love to see him play with one of the big teams – like your Manchester Citys, your Liverpools, your Uniteds, Chelseas – who have all a squad of unbelievable players, Leicester are fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but to go on to that next level, I’d love to see how’d do there. And I definitely think he’s a phenomenal player.”
He later said (3:35): “I think the big thing is, there’s always this talk over Wijnaldum. I know he’s come out recently and said that he’d be devastated to leave Liverpool, of course. And he’s been a phenomenal servant for the last few years. Obviously, the success they had in the Champions League and the Premier League, he was pivotal to all that. I think the way I was always looking at it – he will be his replacement.”
TIF Thoughts on Tielemans and Liverpool…
Tielemans is still only 23 and as per FBRef, his attacking contributions seem to outweigh his defensive contributions this season. He seems to be more involved in creating chances and playing the ball forward. Similarly, even Wijnaldum hasn’t been involved too much in a defensive sense this season.
Considering Tielemans’ age and contribution to goals, he may well be a more than decent replacement for Wijnaldum. Since the Belgian is valued at £45 million though, it won’t be a cheap deal to sign him.