Martinez interview

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Bentleys Roofer
In the athletic. Mentions our youri:

"His face lights up at the mention of Leicester’s 24-year-old midfielder Youri Tielemans, while Brighton’s Leandro Trossard and 19-year-old Rennes forward Jeremy Doku bring fresh anticipation. In the case of Tielemans, he recalls a training session, some time before the 2018 World Cup, where the senior team was short of a player and Tielemans was sent over to fill a hole.

The Belgium boss says: “I was very aware of his name, even before arriving into the national team. I had seen him in a Europa League game against Spurs for Anderlecht while I was managing in England. Then he came into this training session and he became the best player in that exercise. At that point we just thought, ‘Wow, this is too good to let him go back’. Since then, we have seen him grow and it is why I have enjoyed the national team experience. It is more than just selecting the players in good form; it is making a relationship with a talent and character that you can invest in and go along on that journey. In 2018, it was not an easy decision. We had to leave experienced players out (such as Radja Nainggolan) but I always felt Youri was a captain for the national team for the future and he could be the perfect bridge between the so-called golden generation and the next wave.”"
 
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