Scouting Atletico Madrid Transfer Target Youri Tielemans

Atletico Madrid's impending transfer ban has unsurprisingly seen transfer rumours with La Liga's table-toppers increase of late, with the expectation that they will sign one or two more this window.

Bleacher Report's Dean Jones and Belgian outlet HLN reported (h/t Sporting Witness) that Atletico Madrid were among several other clubs to have recently stepped up their interest in two Anderlecht midfielders, with one eye on Dennis Praet. However, the significant interest from Atleti is in Youri Tielemans.

The Vicente Calderon club have already invested heavily in recent transfer windows in midfield and attacking talent in the 18 to 22 age category, so 18-year-old Tielemans would certainly fit that initial criteria, but how does he stack up against what Atleti already have and what would he add to the squad?

Style and Role

Central midfield, and capable of playing multiple roles, Tielemans has so far shown his best form as a deeper controlling player who can spark attacking play in his own team with his distribution and vision from the middle third.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe detailed the Belgian's talents in his 100 Youth Prospects to Watch piece in October, where Tielemans made the podium spots:

"Tielemans is a controlling midfielder with exceptional positional awareness and a lovely stroked pass. He's not yet big enough to dominate games on his own, but he has flashed brilliance in a two-man pivot. He's mentally tough and boasts the technical talent to make it to the very top."

It's also worth noting that early on this campaign, Tielemans was used in a wider left-sided role at Anderlecht, and can also play as a more offensive creative option.

Tielemans started this season in scoring form, netting in both the opening Jupiler League fixtures and recording a third goal in Gameweek 6, along with his first assist—all by the end of August. Since then, he has not recorded anything further in either category and was taken out of the side a few months ago.

Belgian football and B/R's Breaking News feature writer Gianni Verschueren gave us the lowdown directly on a tough few months for the teenager:

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While Tielemans remains one of the most exciting prospects in European football, the 2015-16 campaign has been a rough one for the midfielder. He was benched for a stretch of matches in October and has been regularly outplayed by Leander Dendoncker, another highly rated Anderlecht prospect. After winning Belgium's Young Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year, the 18-year-old immediately admitted to HLN Dendoncker deserved it more.

"

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Youri Tielemans: "Leander Dendoncker deserved it more than me" #rsca [HLN] pic.twitter.com/YZCpjiilzt

— Sp. Anderlecht news (@Sporting_AND) January 14, 2016"

Of course, a drop-off in form for young players is hardly unprecedented, and it could be argued that Atletico would benefit more by buying him after such a drop-off with his current club, rather than after a great run of form.

There is also the consideration that, with a number of players at Atletico who already vie for the same position, the youthful nature of Tielemans could easily mean that the Spanish club allow Anderlecht to keep their star for a further season on loan, before Atleti can begin to register new players again after their ban.

Simeone's Switch

More frequently in recent weeks, Atletico's starting system in matches has moved from a 4-4-2 to 4-3-3. Indeed, even in those fixtures where the Rojiblancos do start with a midfield quartet, it inevitably changes for the second 45 minutes.

It is partly circumstance: underperforming central strikers and a surplus of in-form central midfielders means it is easier for Diego Simeone to fit his talents into the side in a 4-3-3.

Tielemans is used to playing in a double-pivot midfield but Anderlecht have also been known to feature three centrally—Dendoncker and Praet often being the other two—and it is reasonable to suggest that Tielemans would have no issue fitting into the side in a tactical sense.

DAVID STOCKMAN/Getty Images

A strong mentality is an absolute must to succeed at the Vicente Calderon under Simeone, as is the patience to earn a spot in the side.

With the likes of Koke, Saul, Matias Kranevitter and Thomas all reasonably young and high-quality central midfielders, any new addition has a lot of work to do to find a role, even without considering the more experienced options including Tiago and Gabi.

Tielemans will inevitably be a highly prized capture whenever one of Europe's big sides does make a move for him. He seems a natural fit for Atletico—perhaps most of all if they opt to make a move to benefit them once the transfer ban has ended and the midfielder has gained a little more maturity and experience in his game.

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