Manchester United could now make a deadline day swoop for Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans...

What's the talk?

According to The Express, the Old Trafford  outfit have been keeping an eye on the Belgian, whose contract with the Foxes is set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

With a fee of £25m previously touted for the 25-year-old, United manager Erik ten Hag might be prudent to convince the club's hierarchy to part with that sum in order to lure Tielemans to Manchester ahead of a possible shark tank of suitors awaiting a free transfer in the summer.

"Phenomenon"

With the January transfer window now in the closing stages, it has previously appeared unlikely that the Red Devils would conduct further business after previously completing the signings of Wout Weghorst and Jack Butland this month.

Tielemans - who has made 184 appearances for Leicester since arriving from AS Monaco for £40m in 2019, scoring 35 goals and supplying 31 assists - would give United a truly innate conductor of play, with a ball-playing prowess which will suffuse quality over the collective efforts of their expansive pool of talent.

In winning the FA Cup and Community Shield with the Foxes during his time at the King Power Stadium - both of which were clinched since United last tasted silverware - the 25-year-old appears to boast the requisite mentality on the pitch to match Ten Hag's ambitious aspirations.

As per Sofascore, Tielemans has recorded an average Premier League match rating of 7.17 this term despite Leicester's struggles, completing 84% of his passes and making 2.1 tackles per game.

The 58-cap Belgian holds an average career passing accuracy of 82.8%, while also unleashing 1.4 shots and 1.1 key passes per match, as per WhoScored.

Once hailed as a "phenomenon" by former Anderlecht and Sweden midfielder Par Zetterberg, the £120k-per-week maestro would be a stellar addition to Ten Hag's squad.

Tenacious, robust, unflinching - these are three adjectives which epitomise the multi-faceted skill set of a central midfielder serving as a stalwart for a Leicester team which has reached European heights and landed major trophies with his involvement.

Now seems like the time for a step up another level, and at Manchester United, Tielemans could ascend into the upper echelons of the Champions League, with Ten Hag's team on course for a top-four finish this season.

Bringing him in to further strengthen their ranks would represent a statement signing from the Old Trafford manager.