Youri Tielemans – Fantasy Football Potential

Leicester City have announced the club record signing of Youri Tielemans from Monaco on a four year deal for a fee believed to be around £40 million. Aged just 22, the young Belgian already have over 250 senior appearances and is thought of as one of the most promising midfielders in Europe.

The signing of the Belgian takes Leicester’s summer spend up to nearly £80 million after they have signed James Justin and Ayoze Perez earlier this month. Here’s what Tielemans has had to say about his move to Leicester:

“It is such a great feeling to sign for this club. Ever since I arrived on loan last season, all the players, the staff and the fans have been fantastic with me, so I’m thrilled to be able to become a Leicester City player.”

Player History

Tielemans is a product of the Anderlecht youth system, with him signing his first professional contract at the age of 16. He went on to make his senior debut in the Belgian Pro League in 2013, against Lokeren in a game which they were beaten 2-3. The young Belgian went on to make 35 appearances across the 2013/14 season, scoring 2 goals and assisting 6 other.

The 2014/15 season was one in which he fully established himself in the first team as he made 52 appearances, 6 of which were in the Champions League. Over the course of the season he scored 8 goals and 6 assists, which isn’t a bad return from a 17 year old midfielder. During his first two season with Anderlecht he won the Belgian Young Player of the Year.

During his penultimate season at Anderlecht, Tielemans played 45 times, scoring 7 goals and assisting 4 others. It was his final season that he was most prolific, scoring 18 goals and assisting 15 others over the course of 53 appearances, an attacking return every 134 minutes.

In May 2017, Tielemans went on to join Monaco on a five year deal for a fee believed to be around €25 million. For one reason or another, the Belgian could not find the form he had the previous season and was dubbed a failure scoring 1 goal and assisting 2 others in 35 appearances.

As many fantasy managers will know, last season Tielemans joined Leicester City on loan, as Adrien Silva went the other way. During his 13 appearances in the Premier League, Tielemans had a positive impact on Leicester’s form, scoring 3 goals and assisting 5 others.

Internationally, Tielemans has played on 28 occasions for various youth levels and has now played 23 times for the Belgian senior squad, scoring just one goal.

Fantasy Football Potential

Tielemans has been added to Fantasy Premier League with a price of just £6.5m, which many managers feel is a bargain. Last campaign he scored 63 FPL points across the 13 appearances he made, scoring 3, assisting 5 and picking up 6 bonus points. That said, how does he stack up against the other Leicester City midfield options, notably Perez (£6.5m) and Maddison (£7.0m)?

Player Tielemans Perez Maddison
Points 63 141 137
Bonus 6 12 19
Goals 3 12 7
Assists 5 2 7
Minutes Played 1087 2916 2831
Mins per point 17.3 20.7 20.7

Some of these results may be skewed somewhat due to Tielemans only playing part of the season, but it is clear that based on last season Tielemans scored a point every 17.3 minutes comparted to Perez and Maddison who both took 20.7 minutes.

Leicester City have a bit of a tough start to the season, facing 4 of the top 6 in their first 8 games, although they do also have favourable fixtures such as Sheffield United (A), Bournemouth (H) and Newcastle (H) in between these fixtures.

To compare Tielemans with other midfielders within his price bracket, use our player comparison tool to see if he is a fit for your FPL team. Access this tool here.

Leave a Reply

You may also like...