Daily Mail journalist Sami Mokbel believes that Youri Tielemans could favour a move to Tottenham Hotspur over their north London rivals this summer due to Champions League football – although Spurs are not set to make a move.
Spurs have already completed a lot of business this summer and are still looking to sign a number of players to add depth to Antonio Conte’s side ahead of next season, with links to Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet.
However, one player they have reportedly admired for a long time is Tielemans, and while Mokbel claims Spurs are not currently looking to make a move for the player, he also believes the Belgium international would pick the Lilywhites over rivals Arsenal, who are also linked with Tielemans.
He said on the Last Word on Spurs podcast: “I can see Tottenham making a move for Tielemans late in the window, but I think he’s not one that they would look to do at the moment. They’ve definitely got an interest in Tielemans, but all the indications I’ve had so far this window is that it’s a no on Tielemans.
“But I’m not so sure. I think there is a deal to be done for Tielemans, but again, it’ll be late in the window. I think if there is a club that Tielemans would ideally join, I think he would pick Tottenham over Arsenal purely because of the whole Champions League thing.”
TIF Thoughts on Tielemans to Spurs…
Interestingly, Tielemans was wowed by Mousa Dembele, a player who Spurs fans grew to love.
It would be a huge coup for the club and the fanbase if they ended up securing a player of Tielemans’ ability over rivals Arsenal. The Belgian bagged seven goals and five assists across all competitions for the Foxes last season, while averaging 1.5 shots, 1.1 key passes, 2.3 long balls, and 1.9 tackles per game with an 84.2% passing accuracy (as per WhoScored)
He also impressed with his underlying stats compared to other midfielders across the top five leagues, as according to FBRef, he ranked in the 88th percentile for progressive passes per game with 5.8 and the 85th for shot-creating actions with 2.97 per game.
While Tielemans is not a priority signing for Spurs right now, adding a player of his standard to combine with Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur in the midfield would surely give them one of the best in the Premier League.
Who should Tielemans sign for?Spurs
Arsenal
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