For a little while now Europe’s top clubs have been buying Belgian talent. Every so often a nation hits a purple patch in terms of churning out footballers, and that certainly seems to be the case for the Red Devils, whose quality and depth of options have seen them rise up to the very summit of FIFAs rankings and make an impact at major tournaments during the 2010s.

Few leagues across the continent have felt the Belgian impact to the extent of the Premier League and if reports are to be believed, Youri Tielemans could be the next man to arrive, with Chelsea showing an interest. The Blues currently have Eden Hazard running their attacking line and Spurs have a trio of Belgians in their first choice XI, while Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United all regularly deploy Kevin De Bruyne, Simon Mignolet and Marouane Fellaini, among others. Even the division’s top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, is from the nation in question.

Belgians, it seems, have little trouble adapting to the physicality and intense nature of the English game, which should not come as a shock considering the sport is played with a focus on pace, power and technique from a young age. This all makes Tielemans a truly interesting prospect. Schooled by Anderlecht, the attacking midfielder, despite being just 19, has already made in excess of 100 Jupiler League outings and played in both the Europa League and Champions League, making him the latest to benefit from the club’s tendency to give youth a chance – as they did when Lukaku broke through in his mid-teens. At 16, Tielemans was already a first-team player at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium and had made his debut at the top of the European club game, meaning he has the level of experience to suggest that his first move away from Belgium could be a big one.

But, that’s not to say it has to be now. Granted, there’s an argument for taking chances when they come, but as Lukaku showed, the journey isn’t always a smooth one, which was also the case for De Bruyne, both of whom joined Chelsea before finding success away from Stamford Bridge. The duo have shown that they are fit to play at the highest level and are now among the best in their positions, but they may now wish they has stayed with the Anderlecht and Gent a little longer to smooth the transition.

Tielemans may himself be capable of playing in England with a team battling for a European place, but the Chelsea leap might be too much, too soon - especially with Chelsea's seeming unwillingness to play young players. After all, he’s playing regular football to a good level and picking a winning mentality with the Paars-wits, and one or two seasons more will, major injury aside, not rock the boat in terms of his development.

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