Atletico Madrid weighing up move for rising Anderlecht wonderkid

Anderlecht midfielder Youri Tielemans caught the eye with two spectacular goals against Oostende at the weekend and now the teenager is firmly in the sights of Atletico Madrid for the third summer in a row, reports Belgian outlet DH, via AS.

Tielemans, 19, came close to joining Atletico in 2015 before the Spanish side were forced to shelve their interest due to financial constraints before an underwhelming campaign last season made Diego Simeone’s side think again about their pursuit of the midfielder.

However, Tielemans, who shares an agent with Atletico winger Yannick Carrasco, is now back on Atletico’s radar after enjoying a purple patch of form, although there are still some obstacles in the way of their interest.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, Atletico are still under a FIFA-imposed transfer ban and if their appeal fails then they will not be able to register players this summer.

They could theoretically complete a deal to sign Tielemans this summer and make him wait until January before he can play, which was what Barcelona did with Arda Turan in 2015. However, there is also the case that Anderlecht are demanding Atletico pay a club record fee for the teenager, who also wants regular game time straight away.

Given Chelsea reportedly paid as much as £20m for Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht in 2011, Atletico can be expected to make in excess of that if they want to secure Tielemans’ services. The teenager has played a direct hand in 25 goals in 36 appearances for Anderlecht in all competitions this season.

For more stats on Youri Tielemans, click here to visit his WhoScored player page