Newcastle United are interested in a deal to bring Youri Tielemans to St. James’ Park in the January transfer window.
What’s been said?
That’s according to Pete O’Rourke, with the journalist revealing in a recent interview with Football FanCast that, having been heavily linked with a move for the Leicester City central midfielder this month, Eddie Howe is indeed keen on a move for the Belgium international this winter – with the Foxes believed to value the 25-year-old around the £20m mark.
When asked whether he felt Newcastle could make a move for Tielemans in January, O’Rourke said: “Yeah. I think Eddie Howe is in the market for a central midfielder. James Madison was the top target, but he looks like he’s out of their range in this window. I’m sure Youri Tielemans, Maddison’s teammate, is on their radar.”
“Unreal”
Considering just how impressive Tielemans has been in a below-par Leicester side this season, should Howe manage to get a £20m deal over the line for the playmaker this winter, it would certainly represent an unreal signing for the Magpies.
Indeed, over his 20 Premier League appearances this term, the £45m-rated talent has been in fantastic form going forwards, having already scored three goals – outperforming his xG of 2.29 – provided one assist and created seven big chances, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.6 dribbles – at a success rate of 73% – per game.
The £35k-per-week midfielder has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, playing an average of 2.6 long balls, 2.4 chipped passes and completing 46 total passes – at a success rate of 84% – per match, in addition to making an average of 2.1 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, regaining possession 0.6 times and winning 4.2 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per outing.
These returns have seen the 25-year-old who talkSPORT’s Jack Johnson dubbed “unreal” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.17, not only ranking him as Brendan Rodgers’ second-best performer in the league but also as the joint 33rd-best player in the top flight of English football as a whole so far this season.
As such, considering Tielemans has achieved these metrics while playing for a side that currently occupy 14th place in the Premier League standings, the thought of the Belgian plying his trade alongside Newcastle’s Champions League-chasing squad will certainly be an extremely tantalising one for all involved with the club.
And, with the midfielder looking to be available for a fee roughly £25m less than his current market valuation, the argument that the playmaker would be something of a steal at £20m is an extremely easy one to make – leading us to believe that Howe simply must do everything in his power to get a deal over the line for Tielemans prior to January’s transfer deadline.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/7OK9Nu2
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