Youri Tielemans is thankful for the international break after a “difficult” start to the season at Leicester City, but he does not regret remaining at the club.
Leicester has only one point from seven Premier League games, losing all six of their previous six.
Among those losses have been 5-2 and 6-2 defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively, with the latest setback on Saturday dramatically raising the strain on under-fire manager Brendan Rodgers.
Tielemans was strongly linked with a move away from Leicester during the most recent transfer window.
When his contract expires at the end of the season, the Foxes risk losing a valued asset for free.
Tielemans does not regret being at the King Power Stadium despite the lack of a relocation.
But the midfielder, the scorer of Leicester’s winning goal against Chelsea in the 2020-21 FA Cup final, is relieved to get away from the negativity after joining up with Belgium.
He said at a press conference ahead of Belgium’s Nations League games against Wales and the Netherlands:
“I’m happy to get some fresh air here [on international duty] because it’s tough at Leicester right now.
“It’s clear that things are not going well at the club. We are doing everything we can as a team.
“At Leicester, the consecutive defeats have affected us as a group. We need to benefit from this break to recharge our batteries.
“It’s hard to get it off my mind as it keeps running through my head. Only my kids sometimes prevent me from thinking about it.”
During the transfer window, Arsenal was extensively associated with Tielemans.
And if he does not sign a new deal before January, he will be a great commodity.
Nonetheless, Tielemans believes that Leicester’s form and contractual position are two wholly unrelated issues.
He continued:
“I’m not going to speak too much about my contract now.
“I didn’t leave Leicester in the summer as I always said the project had to be the right one.
“Just because things are getting worse now at Leicester doesn’t mean I should regret [staying at the club].”
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