Youri Marion A. Tielemans (born 7 May 1997) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Leicester City and the Belgium national team.
Tielemans began his career at Anderlecht, where he made 185 official appearances and scored 35 goals across four seasons. He won the league title twice and in 2017 was chosen as the Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year. He is the youngest Belgian to play in the UEFA Champions League, making his debut in the competition at the age of 16 years and 148 days. After two years at Monaco in Ligue 1, he joined Leicester in 2019, initially on loan and then for an estimated fee of £32 million. He scored the only goal of the 2021 FA Cup Final.
Tielemans represented Belgium at several youth levels and before gaining his first cap for the national team in November 2016, aged 19. He was part of the squad that came third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, also featuring at UEFA Euro 2020.
Tielemans began as a holding midfielder, but was moved by Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi to a more attacking role, where he scored long-range goals and was compared to Frank Lampard and Axel Witsel. A 2015 profile by Sky Sports noted his versatility as a defensive or attacking midfielder, concluding that his pace, passing and shot power suited the latter role better. Paul Van Himst, a former Anderlecht and Belgium player, noted at the same time that Tielemans had good skills with long passes.<\/P>","C377723034B3384C":"571","C497EA9EA23AEEDCAF9AD5DB76B19323":"
CLUB
<\/U><\/STRONG>Anderlecht<\/STRONG>
Belgian Pro League: 2013–14, 2016–17
Belgian Super Cup: 2013, 2014
Leicester City<\/STRONG>
FA Cup: 2020–21
FA Community Shield: 2021
INTERNATIONAL
<\/U><\/STRONG>Belgium<\/STRONG>
FIFA World Cup third place: 2018
INDIVIDUAL
<\/U><\/STRONG>Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2013–14, 2014–15
Belgian Talent of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2014
Ebony Shoe Award:
<\/STRONG>2017
Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2016-17
UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season:
<\/STRONG>2016–17
Leicester City Player of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2020–21
Leicester City Players' Player of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2020–21<\/P>","DC9241C78561BCD0":"Youri Tielemans","97B41D9FF6388BC00A2A0187557FA1F5":"","e_index":6};