A claim has emerged on whether or not Newcastle United target Youri Tielemans would be interested in joining the club during the summer transfer window.
What's the talk?
Journalist Pete O'Rourke has suggested that the Leicester maestro may be open to making the move to St. James' Park ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
He told Football FanCast: "I can't see any reason why you wouldn't be interested. As I said, I think Newcastle are a club going places right now. They've made some good signings in the last couple of transfer windows as well.
"And Eddie Howe is a good manager, I think that a lot of players would enjoy playing under so it's something that will be on Tielemans' mind."
Leicester signed him for £35m from Monaco and it would take around £25m to prise him away from the King Power.
Huge Jonjo Shelvey upgrade
By securing a deal to sign the Belgium international, Newcastle can land a huge upgrade on current midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.
The Englishman was a consistent presence in the middle of the park for the Magpies in the second half of last term under Howe, starting 22 games in total during the campaign. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.93 as he scored two goals and assisted one in the Premier League.
Shelvey also made 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game as he showed that he is not willing to shy away from his defensive responsibilities.
Meanwhile, in four top-flight campaigns in England, Tielemans has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.00 or higher in each season - meaning that he has performed to a higher level throughout his entire career in the country than Shelvey managed last term.
Sweden midfielder Par Zetterberg once dubbed him a "phenomenon" and his statistics in the Premier League last term suggest that he would be a phenomenal player for Newcastle and a huge upgrade on Shelvey.
In 2021/22, Tielemans averaged a score of 7.08 as he scored six goals and assisted four from central midfield, whilst also making 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game.
These statistics suggest that he would offer more than the ex-Liverpool gem at both ends of the pitch, along with a higher standard of performance on a consistent basis.
This is why the Toon would improve their team by signing him to play alongside Bruno Guimaraes and fans will be buzzing with the suggestion that he could be tempted by the move.