Anderlecht Director Confirms Youri Tielemans Is Heading To Monaco
REUTERS/Eric Vidal
Anderlecht’s sporting director Herman Van Holsbeeck has confirmed that Youri Tielemans is set to join Monaco, and expects the deal to be done by the end of the week.
Tielemans is a product of Anderlecht’s youth academy, and is considered as one of the brightest young prospects in world football. He scored 13 goals in 37 league games for the Belgian side this season, to help the club win a record 34th league title.
Considering his exploits this term, he has been linked with a lot of top European clubs recently, and the fans are desperate to know where the highly-rated midfielder is going to end up this summer.
With the rumour mill buzzing about his future every day, Anderlecht’s sporting director Van Holsbeeck has confirmed that Monaco have eventually won the race for Tielemans’ signature, adding that the 20-year-old will undergo medical test this week ahead of completing his switch for a fee in the region of £21.6m.
“Tielemans is Anderlecht’s record transfer,” Holsbeeck told Belgian publication Nieuwsblad.
“The transfer fee will be 25m euros plus bonuses involved. Medical tests have been scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday. Monaco is the ideal club for Youri. Youri really wanted to go to a club where the coach would love to work with him.”
Premier League clubs Manchester City and Manchester United were also rumoured to be admirers for the gifted midfielder, but Holsbeeck revealed that Tielemans turned down the move to the Premier League because he felt that he wouldn’t get regular first team football.
“Last season, he said to me: ‘I won’t go to Manchester where I am just another number on a list.’ If the transfer is completed, he can join Anderlecht’s previous alumni [Vincent] Kompany and [Romelu] Lukaku,” Holsbeeck added.
Despite the success of Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane this season, it’s highly unlikely that Tielemans would enjoy regular game time at a top Premier League side like City. Monaco, on the other hand, could guarantee Tielemans plenty of minutes, as they are set to sell some of their star players this summer.
With the 2018 World Cup in Russia around the corner, the midfielder has taken a great decision in joining a club where he is guaranteed a starting position.
Written by Pragadeesh Shanmugam 