Atletico Madrid set to beat Chelsea and Arsenal to Belgian upstart

Belgian is quickly developing a reputation as something of a hot-bed for young footballing talent and one of the country’s brightest young prospects may be about to seal a move away – but it won’t be to another Premier League club.

Thibaut Courtois, Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku are just some examples of the kind of Belgian talent that has graced the English top-flight in recent years.

But one up-and-coming star who will not be joining them just yet is Anderlecht midfielder Youri Tielemans.

Already a regular for the Brussels club the 17-year-old was named Belgian Talent of the Year and Young Professional Footballer of the Year in 2014.

It came after a campaign in which he helped Anderlecht claim a Belgian Pro League and Belgian Super Cup double, while also becoming the youngster Belgian player to ever play in the Champions League at the tender age of 16 years, four months and 25 days.

Deployed in the centre of the park, Tielemans is equally adept at defending his own goal as he is attacking the opposition’s and was linked with moves to the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.

But a move to London now appears to be out of the question, for the time being at least, with AS claiming Atletico Madrid have moved to sign the player as part of a deal that will see the midfielder move to Spain in the summer.

Among the brightest young talents on Anderlecht’s books, Tielemans departure could prompt a mass exodus of stars from the club with others like Aleksander Mitrovic and Dennis Praet previously linked with moves to the Premier League.

The English top-flight may have missed out on one Belgian prodigy, but there are plenty more in the pipeline it would appear.

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