Leicester officials delighted as Euro giant ‘drops out of race’ for key player
Leicester City have reportedly been handed a massive boost after a big European club dropped out of the race for one of their star players.
The Foxes are looking to qualify for the Champions League this season, having finished fifth in both 2019-20 and 2020-21. They occupied fourth spot for most of those campaigns but fell into the Europa League places in the final few weeks.
Brendan Rodgers will be desperate for that not to happen again. They have had a mixed start to the current season, picking up 11 points from eight matches.
Arguably their best performance so far was the 4-2 victory over Manchester United. Leicester came from behind to lead 2-1 heading into the final ten minutes. Marcus Rashford dragged the Red Devils level but late goals from Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka settled the match.
Rodgers is reliant on his talented starting eleven to keep Leicester moving forward. It’s no surprise that some of his stars have been linked with Europe’s biggest teams.
Reports on September 13 claimed that Barcelona are monitoring Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans. Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman is keen to sign a new playmaker, having lost out on Gini Wijnaldum to Paris Saint-Germain.
Tielemans would be the ideal solution but Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo state that the pursuit is over.
The 24-year-old’s huge price tag has put Barcelona off. Leicester paid Monaco around £40million for him in 2019 and his transfer value has almost doubled since then.
Leicester have begun contract negotiations to prevent a sale. Barca, in contrast, are in a dire financial situation and will not be able to afford a major bid.
The news will be celebrated among Leicester chiefs. They have lost Ben Chilwell and Riyad Mahrez in recent years and will not want the same to happen to Tielemans.
The player will feature in Leicester’s next match. They travel to Spartak Moscow on Wednesday in Group C of the Europa League.
Solskjaer given little chance of seeing out the season at Manchester United
Leicester joined by Arsenal in winger pursuit
Meanwhile, Leicester and Arsenal have supposedly reignited their interest in a Premier League winger.
The Mirror write that both clubs are keeping tabs on Southampton’s Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Elyounoussi is back in the fold at St Mary’s. He got on the scoresheet during Southampton’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle in August.
The Norway international also registered a hat-trick during the Carabao Cup win over Newport County.
Arsenal are hoping to bolster their attacking options with the signing of Elyounoussi next year. Leicester are looking for squad depth in wide areas. They turned down the chance to sign Cengiz Under from Roma this summer.
READ MORE: Rodgers hails three issues Leicester fixed after ‘laying it out’ to squad
The post Leicester officials delighted as Euro giant ‘drops out of race’ for key player appeared first on TEAMtalk.