Tielemans happy with decision to snub Man Utd & Arsenal in favour of £40m Leicester move

Youri Tielemans is happy with his decision to snub “big clubs” over the summer, with reported interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal shunned in favour of making a £40 million ($49m) switch to Leicester.

The Belgium international midfielder made himself a much sought-after asset with his performances during a loan spell with the Foxes in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign.

Having shown how capable he is on a Premier League stage, leading sides from England and elsewhere were keen to add the 22-year-old to their respective ranks.

Tielemans opted to ignore much of the speculation which raged around him and instead set about remaining loyal to Leicester by moving to the King Power Stadium on a permanent basis.

On that decision, he told reporters while away on Euro 2020 qualifying duty: “During the transfer window, I was happy with the interest of certain big clubs.

“I needed to make a choice for my young career and I think it was the right one. To arrive off the back of a €45m transfer doesn’t change anything. 

“They already knew me at Leicester. My loan spell went very well. I wanted to continue playing for this club.”

Tielemans has slotted seamlessly back into the Foxes fold, with Brendan Rodgers having expressed his delight when a deal was done to bring a player back onto his books that boasts the potential to take his game to even greater heights in the future.

The Leicester boss said: “I’m delighted that Youri has chosen to be part of Leicester City’s journey.

“It’s an incredibly exciting time for this club and to be able to bring players of Youri’s quality here is an indication of the hunger for success we have here.

“Youri fit brilliantly into the squad last season, he’s already shown that he’s capable of making an impact in the Premier League and he adds another option to an incredibly talented group of players here at Leicester City.”

Rodgers’ side have taken eight points from their opening four games in 2019-20, with that unbeaten return enough to have them sat third in the early Premier League table.