Owen Hargreaves has claimed that it’s ‘scary’ that someone will be able to sign Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester City after he was ‘very close’ to signing for Arsenal.
The Leicester City midfielder was dubbed a ‘fantastic football player’ by Hargreaves, with his current deal at the King Power Stadium set to expire in the summer of 2023.
Mikel Arteta’s side are sitting top of the Premier League table, and unless he leaves in January, Arsenal will be hoping they are the front-runners for his signature.
Unless Brendan Rodgers and someone from the Leicester board waves a magic wand, there is no reason why the 25-year-old should sign a new deal, especially given that he is now worthy of stepping up to a team playing in Europe and challenging for the title.
Tielemans is perfect for this current Arsenal side, playing as a number eight, alongside the more defensive-minded Thomas Partey with the freedom to go forward – the Gunners are being tipped to beat Newcastle to his possible signing.
Nonetheless, former England and Bayern Munich midfielder Hargreaves can see Tielemans heading for a top-four club next summer, as he told Premier League Productions.
“Youri Tielemans is a fantastic football player,” said Hargreaves. “Technically, he can play for a top-four team, and he is on a free.
“He might end up playing for a top-four team. He was very close with Arsenal. But that’s the quality he has. Just pure quality.
“Somebody might get him. Fabulous player. At 25-years-old, an experienced international from Belgium, that is scary.”
LONG-RANGE MASTER
In recent seasons, both Partey and Granit Xhaka have showcased this great ability to shoot from long range.
Xhaka has a lethal and very powerful left foot, scoring some crucial goals for the Gunners, perhaps a standout against Manchester United last season.
Whereas Partey is a little different, he has seemed to master the technique of guiding the ball, at the first time of asking, into the top corner when the ball is being laid into his path, no better than his strike against Tottenham this season.
But Tielemans is on a different level, whether it’s volleying the ball from the edge of the box, or powering the ball into the top corner, there aren’t many better than him, other than probably his fellow countryman Kevin de Bruyne, in the Premier League at that range.
