Brendan Rodgers says £33k-a-week Leicester man has such a ‘wonderful football brain’

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Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has waxed lyrical about Youri Tielemans, a player with a “wonderful football brain”.

The 23-year-old has been superb for the Foxes since his initial loan move in 2019, since turned into a permanent deal for a reported £40million.

To date, Tielemans has clocked up 88 competitive appearances for Leicester, registering an impressive 14 goals and 17 assists in blue.

This season, the Belgium international has made 31 appearances in all competitions for the King Power Stadium side, scoring six times and registering four assists.

Tielemans’ latest goal contribution came in Wednesday night’s FA Cup fifth-round victory over Brighton, delivering a perfect cross for Kelechi Iheanacho to head home late on.

As well as his assist, the £33,000-a-week ace looked bright throughout, grew in influence as the game went on, and his quick thinking from the corner culminated in the winner.

“He is 23 years of age but if you watched him you would think he was 28 or 29,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.

“He has got a wonderful football brain. For a player of 23, I trust him in the game. Tactically, he is so strong. Technically, he can play fast because his vision is so good.”

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Tielemans’ current deal expires in the summer of 2023 and, according to the Daily Mail, the Foxes are keen to tie him to a new one, potentially worth about £100,000 a week.

Rodgers admitted earlier this month that he’d be “very keen” for the player to extend his contract, telling the Leicester Mercury: “He’s a joy to work with”.

With Leicester flying high in the league, tying Tielemans down to a new bumper deal would be a superb signal of intent to the rest of English football that the Foxes are aiming ever higher.