Liverpool icon Steve McManaman speaks about Liverpool transfer situation with Youri Tielemans
Liverpool icon Steve McManaman had his say about Youri Tielemans and the Belgian’s link to Liverpool. The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to Merseyside this summer following the Reds’ injury situation in midfield.
McManaman wrote in his column on horseracing.net (h/t The Express) about how Liverpool would have already gotten their man if the club were to be actually interested in the player.
Post injuries to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones and Thiago Alcantara, the Reds were in a quagmire of sorts. An ageing midfield with no depth is a major reason as to why Liverpool haven’t clicked this season. A player of Tielemans’ stature would have helped negate those issues.
McManaman believes it is now unlikely that the Reds would dig into the opportunity of signing the Leicester City midfielder. He believes that if Jurgen Klopp really wanted the former AS Monaco midfielder, he’d be a Liverpool player right now.
“Would Youri Tielemans be a viable option for Liverpool? I don’t know. The only thing is, if you had wanted him, you would have got him now.”
The former Real Madrid and Liverpool wideman also explored the possible thought process of Liverpool trying to get Leicester’s number 8 on a free next summer when his contract runs down. That is a smart proposition but one that works if Tielemans doesn’t renew his contract at the King Power Stadium.
“Can they get him for free in twelve months time? I have no idea but for £20million-£25m he’d be available now if that was the case. I presume if Liverpool had wanted him they would have taken him.”
Leicester have been silent this transfer window, with only one signing – Goalkeeper Alex Smithies from Cardiff City – along with loanee Dennis Praet returning from his loan spell at Torino.
Next for Tielemans
That is an indication of the fact that either Tielemans is looking for a better deal, or just running out his contract. Earlier this year, the Belgian sounded open to a move. He spoke in an interview in June. When prompted about a move, he said, “That is not out of the question”.
With his contract expiring next summer, he could find multiple suitable recruiters for himself. And for Leicester, they would be wise to look to offload him this summer if they do not intend on losing him on a free transfer next year.
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He has enough experience of playing in the Premier League and is of a strong age profile. We need fairly ‘young’ players that can play at the peak of their powers for the next four-five years.
Whether that man will be Tielemans or someone else remains to be seen. McManaman does make sense in this regard – if we did want him, surely there would have been at least some noise surrounding this potential transfer.
