Youri Tielemans has proven his commitment to Leicester City in spite of his uncertain future, manager Brendan Rodgers has said. Tielemans could lead City out against Wolves this Sunday too with Evans still a doubt, and there was no question in Rodgers’ mind that the Belgian was capable of taking the armband, even as he comes into the final six months of his contract. His future is likely to be elsewhere come next season, with clubs like Arsenal, Juventus, and Barcelona circling.
Brendan Rodgers said: “He’s an example of professionalism. Even with the situation he’s in, it shows how committed he is. I’ve never seen a change from Youri since he first joined to now. His commitment is there, his quality is there. What he allows me to do on the field, his cleverness to get into those positions. He’s a fantastic footballer. I know he’s been very honoured to lead the team out of these past few games.”
Tielemans will hope to help City to their first away point this weekend at Wolves. They are the only club to have lost every single match on the road this season, that’s despite only Arsenal and Manchester City scoring more goals away from home. City failed to follow up their last victory, losing at Bournemouth after the thrashing of Nottingham Forest, and so they will again attempt to win back-to-back games. If they manage it, they could move out of the relegation zone for the first time since the third week of the campaign.
Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s going to be difficult. We went into our next game [after Forest] and played very well up to a point, but then we conceded two poor goals. We’ve been reiterating since that the importance of having that desire to win and collectively staying strong together. We’ve seen that tonight [against Leeds]. You’ve got no guarantees, but if we bring that mentality into the next game, we have a great chance of getting a result.”
