Youri Tielemans    19    Midfielder    Anderlecht    Belgium

Skinny

Youri Tielemans has been around for so long that we forget he will remain a teenager until May; and yes, we know we make reference to his age every year but it is incredible just how young he remains. It feels like we’ve been talking about him for years.

Tielemans shattered every age record available as he broke into the Anderlecht side some three years ago and he is now considered something of an old hand in their midfield; having played over 100 league games for the club.

Having pushed on from his early role as the holding midfielder in the three, Youri is now asked to be the driving force in the midfield and looks more at ease than he ever did when trying to remain disciplined. He is the perfect complement to those around him as he gets up and down the field. Able to get forward and chip in with goals, as well as do his necessary shift in defence Tielemans has all the attributes that we could ask of a complete box-to-box midfielder. It also helps that he remains a calming influence on those around him.

Big thumbs up from us.

2016 has been…

…well, we’ll leave you in the capable hands of BeNeFoot’s Bjorn DeCock. “Making his debut in 2013... He impressed everybody with his flair, technique and maturity for somebody of his age. With the transfer of Steven Defour to Burnley he is the new leader of the Belgian giants' midfield. Though Anderlecht will only be the beginning for this raw diamond.”

What’s next?

Youri finished 2015 with a call-up to the Belgium squad for a pair of friendlies. He didn’t make an appearance in either of those games and it was in fact only earlier this month that he eventually made that long-awaited bow for the senior squad. Now he is in there and playing games under the new manager, we expect he’ll want to stay there.

In February, the Belgian under-21 manager Enzo Scifo made a public declaration that he reckoned Tielemans needed two more years of football in Belgian before he could make a step up to playing in any of the big four European leagues. Quite frankly, that’s nonsense.

He’s ready to go.

Phenomenally experienced for his age, a mature head and excellent base skills means Tielemans is ready for his next challenge. Thankfully he’s not yet at the point that another six or 12 months in the Jupiler may cause a plateauing of his eventual potential; though we’d still think striking while the iron is hot is a strong option right now than waiting for a bunfight to break out over his signature.

The 19 year-old is an excellent footballer and would be an excellent addition to the squad of almost every squad on the planet.

C+    Has outgrown Belgium; time to move up