Tielemans ‘has not rejected new deal’
BELGIAN MIDFIELDER LINKED WITH SEVERAL CLUBS
YOURI Tielemans has not rejected a Leicester City contract offer, manager Brendan Rodgers has declared.
Reports over the weekend suggested Tielemans had turned down a new deal at the King Power Stadium after a year of talks.
But Rodgers says the club would have told him if that was the case.
The midfielder’s current contract expires in 2023, and a summer move is growing more likely, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Juventus among the clubs linked to him.
Tielemans was one of City’s best performers on Sunday afternoon as they drew 2-2 with West Ham, the Belgian scoring the penalty that brought them level just before half-time.
Asked if Tielemans had rejected a new deal, Rodgers said: “Not that I’m aware of.
“I think the club would have mentioned that to me if that was the case. For me, nothing has changed. There has been speculation over the past few days. That’s something that is between the agent and the club.
“You saw Youri today, he was happy and committed and working well.”
Then asked if he had confidence Tielemans would put pen to paper in the near future, Rodgers replied: “I don’t know either way.
“My job is to help him as a player, and improve him as a player.
“Otherwise, it’s between his agent and the club.”
Tielemans was at the heart of a second-half display in which City dominated play, the Belgian switching the ball to Harvey Barnes to allow him to create Ricardo Pereira’s goal.
But it did not lead to three points because of Craig Dawson’s injury-time equaliser, City conceding from a corner once again.
“I feel for the players because it feels a bit deflating when you concede from a set-piece again,” Rodgers said.
“I thought West Ham started better, you can see why they’re in the top four with the confidence in their game. Then we concede the goal which was a poor goal from our perspective.
“Then you sensed the anxiety in the ground, but as the half grew on, we started to find a bit of comfort.
“Once we started to move the ball and keep possession, and looked to progress with it, we looked a threat.
“We reinforced that at halftime, because that’s our mantra.
“We’ve had our success through our game.
“Second half, we took the ball, got into better positions, opened up the pitch.
“I thought we were excellent, and deserving of the victory.
“To lose the goal late on, when we are set up to deal with it, is a hard one to take.”