It’s hard to think of a better football club in Europe than Leicester City.
In the five summer transfer windows after their incredible Premier League victory, they have ritually cleared a seemingly key player from the squad, while still managing to improve season after season.
N’Golo Kante was the first to leave, with Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez, Harry Maguire and Ben Chilwell following him out of the front door in an orderly queue after that. These transfers have given Leicester a total of £ 250 million, funds they have invested in a state-of-the-art training ground and a range of exciting new players.
Welcome to Leicester City Boubakary Soumaré! ??
The options in our midfield next season will be scary … pic.twitter.com/oKR7JhRTae
– MadAboutFoxes (@madaboutfoxes) July 2, 2021
The foxes probably seem to be sticking to the same plane this summer. Early on, James Maddison seemed most likely to resign with Arsenal strongly linked to big money.
More recently, Leicester fans have begun to sweat over the future of another midfielder, Youri Tielemans. Liverpool are known for being long-time fans of the Belgian and with Georginio Wijnaldum recently joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, the timing has never been better for the Reds to pull the trigger.
The only thing that can stop Liverpool from negotiating a deal is Leicester’s award for Tielemans, as it is widely acknowledged that theirs may be better “value” available in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Leicester are also keen to offer Tielemans a new contract, although the Belgian has not yet ruled out an exit.
If he is tempted to move to Anfield, it will be the biggest loss for the Leicester squad since Mahrez left in 2018. Ever since he arrived, Tielemans has been an almost always present on the Leicester side. In fact, since making his debut against Tottenham back in February 2019, he has only missed one Premier League game.
Tielemans has not even been allowed to rest in smaller competitions. He only missed one match during the fox’s run to the EFL Cup semi-final and played every minute when Leicester won the FA Cup last semester.
Tielemans has been a firm favorite with Brendan Rodgers / Michael Regan / Getty Images
Brendan Rodgers’ dependence on Tielemans is as understandable as it is undeniable. The guy can do a little of everything. So comfortable to sit deep and dictate the pace as he hurries his opponents and wins the ball back, the fact that the best European clubs allowed him to glide through the net in 2019 became more incredible for every match that passed last season.
He completed the sixth most progressive passes of the Premier League last semester, the 24th most tackles and the 16th most assisting actions. These statistics sum up Tieleman’s versatility nicely, but they do not tell the whole story.
Watch him play and you will soon find out that he is one of Leicester’s leaders in the field. In addition to leading by example with his screens, he also gives lots of verbal and physical instruction to his teammates. Almost like a quarterback, Tielemans dictates how his side plays with the ball.
It goes without saying that the replacement of Tielemans, if he resigns this summer, will be an absolute priority for the foxes.
However, this is easier said than done. In addition to finding the perfect successor, Leicester will also have to negotiate with all clubs in Europe, knowing that they are one, desperate and two, who have a significant cash wedge after Tieleman’s sale.
This has stung Leicester before. They left it late to sell Maguire for a world record fee and then comic prices were noted for the likes of Lewis Dunk, James Tarkowski and Nathan Ake. Instead, they were forced to turn to a rarely used squad player, Caglar Soyuncu for their first match of the season.
Ten months later, he would be named PFA Team of the Year ahead of Maguire and countless others.
Leicester can learn something from this scenario. The answer to their Tielemans problem can already be found at the club. No, we are not referring to the functional but limited Nampalys Mendy. We’re talking about Boubakary Soumare, who was recently recruited from Ligue 1 winner Lille for just £ 18 million.
Soumare could be Leicester’s next revelation in midfield / Sylvain Lefevre / Getty Images
Soumare has been a favorite with the football analysis community for some time and he also looks good on a YouTube high roller. Preferring to go deep, his combination of technique and physicality means he can also slip past opponents.
Comparing his season with Tieleman’s last timeout gives some gratifying results. Soumare received on average more progressive passes per 90 minutes, registered a much higher pass rate and also played significantly more passes in the last third.
Defensively, Soumare also published very interesting figures last season. He improved Tielemans in tackles, clearances and interceptions per 90 minutes last time, with Lille and Leicester spending an equally long time out of possession.
For all this promising information, Soumare has not yet shown that he has the robust character of his teammates. He missed six Ligue 1 matches last season and failed to start at half a dozen or more, while the previously shortened campaign also saw him sit in spells.
The big question that hangs over Soumare is the same one that remains for most foreign imports. Can he adapt to life in a new country and a new league? We will not get an answer to this for a while but since he is still only 22 years old, there is plenty of time for Soumare to get used to his new environment.
If he makes this adjustment, there is nothing to stop him from being the latest in a long line of Leicester City miracles.
