Youri Tielemans: Online Prodigy or Real-Life Hero?

There is nothing better than a FIFA Career Mode. I mean, the opportunity to put together your own squad, operating the transfer market, picking the tactics and players, then watching it come together in front of your very own eyes as you play the games. It’s the closest 99.9% of us will get to being a real Premier League manager.

Anyone who is accustomed to such a pastime – there’s probably a few million of you out there – knows that signing the next up-and-coming star is the lifeblood of a successful Career campaign. Like in real life, young talents can be bought at a low price, but within a few seasons can grow to become among the best players in your team.

Well, for the last few years, the go-to FIFA ‘wonderkid’ has been Youri Tielemans.

The Belgian has a potential rating of 87 on FIFA 19 (that’s good, by the way). Yet unfortunately for the youngster, his real life success has failed to live up to heights of his online showings.

On Thursday, Tielemans signed for Leicester City on loan until the end of the season – in real life, not a games console.

Three years ago, the midfielder was regarded as one of the most exciting youngsters in world football and was running riot for Anderlecht in Belgium. Yet, instead of jumping from the Belgian First Division straight to a Barcelona or Real Madrid (as many expected), Tielemans instead moved to Monaco.

At the time this seemed like a mutually-beneficial transfer for both parties. Tielemans could use Monaco as a stepping stone whilst Les Monegasques would invariably make a healthy profit from his future sale. The Ligue 1 club had given the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva and Fabinho a chance to express themselves on the world stage, and subsequently gain moves to some of Europe’s top sides, so it seemed like a no-brainer for the youngster.

However, his move to the south of France came at a terrible time for the club. Following the exodus of players after their successful 2016/17 season, Monaco’s next batch of youngsters have failed to impress. The club’s, and Tielemans’, form nosedived and they are now embroiled in a relegation scrap.

There, of course, has to be a certain level of sympathy for the 21-year-old, who had the misfortune of signing for the wrong club at the wrong time. Had he joined just a couple of seasons earlier, he could now be playing at the Bernabeu or Allianz Arena.

Yet it was not to be, and Tielemans’ poor showings this season forced Monaco into searching for a replacement, one they found in the form of Csec Fabregas. His incoming meant the Belgian was free to leave Stade Louis II Stadium, in search of pastures new. But it is a sign of perhaps just how much his stock has fallen in recent years that none of Europe’s top sides appeared willing to to even gamble on a loan move for the Belgian.

In Leicester, Tielemans has perhaps found the next best option. A mid-tabled Premier League side may offer him guaranteed football on the biggest of stages – the perfect platform for would-be buyers to observe Tielemans talents. The Foxes are safe from relegation and will not threatening the for a top-six spot, so Tielemans can play with little pressure. It also represents an opportunity for Monaco, who could still make a profit on their £22m investment, should he impress while at the Foxes.

The King Power Stadium probably is not where Tielemans wants to be at this stage of his career but he now has an opportunity to once again build his reputation. Results under Claude Puel have been indifferent of late, but their squad is full of attacking talent the former Anderlecht man should be able link-up with and draw the best from. The likes of James Maddison, Demarai Gray and Jamie Vardy should benefit from Leicester’s latest recruit, as will the entire team. Tielemans’ ability to retain possession, dictate the pace of a game, while also providing a goal threat while his offensive bursts from deep.

His first task with the Foxes comes in the form of Manchester United, and one of the more imposing midfields in the Premier League. Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera have the perfect blend of skill, physicality and game management. It will be an early test for Tielemans to justify that 87-potential rating.

For all those who have enjoyed a FIFA Career mode, they will all have known an online prodigy who failed to make it in real life. Think Gael Kakuta , Richairo Zivkovi, Stephan El Shaarawy or Jack Rodwell… the list goes on.

For Tielemans, his brief spell in the Premier League could prove vital in ensuring his name does not join that ever-growing list.