Brendan Rodgers has once again expressed his desire to keep midfielder Youri Tielemans at Leicester City but has admitted business must come first for the Foxes.
Tielemans is out of contract in the summer and is, therefore, able to begin negotiating a pre-contract with overseas teams from January 1, 2023, which has left the midfielder's future at the King Power stadium beyond next summer in serious doubt.
Liverpool and Arsenal are two of the sides that have been frequently linked with a move for the Belgian due to his strong performances since moving to the Premier League in January 2019. However, both clubs would have to wait until the summer months to enter free transfer talks with the 25-year-old and his representatives.
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But Rodgers is refusing to concede that Tielemans' future lies away from the Midlands, even with the January window looming just weeks after the World Cup in Qatar finishes.
“It’s not something we are thinking of [selling Tielemans] and not anything the club have said we need to do. We don’t want to be offloading our best players, that’s for sure,” said the Northern Irishman. “So there has been no hint or indication we need to generate money and move him on. But, of course, there’s a business side to the club that they will look at.
“We had a number of long chats in the summer. There is clearly no doubt even a young guy who is focused like Youri and very professional, it can have an impact. But he has been fully focused. He doesn’t let that affect him. He is a top-class professional, he sees the game how I see it.
“On the field he understands what is happening within the game and that’s all he can do – give his very best – and his recent performances have been excellent."
Rodgers added: "We have a number of players out of contract come the end of the season. My focus has been on working with him and getting out of the situation we are in. So everything else is not really spoken about from my perspective.
“I’m still waiting (to hear) but we’re hopeful we can do some business. That would be great, it doesn’t stop us planning or looking at targets in areas that we need to improve on.”
The Foxes currently sit 17th in the Premier League table after a dismal start to the season has seen them win just three of their first twelve games. Midfield maestro James Maddison has also been linked with a mid-season move away from the King Power stadium with Newcastle United rumoured to be weighing up whether to relaunch their failed summer pursuit of the England midfield once the window reopens.
Leicester and Tielemans are next in action on Saturday afternoon against Manchester City in the afternoon's early kick-off.
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