The 19-year-old Belgian plays for Jupiler Pro League giants Anderlecht and he was promoted to the first team in 2020 as a 16-year-old.
He has been tipped for big things in some quarters and in his quest to improve he has kept a close eye on countrymen in the shape of Tielemans, Romelu Lukaku and former Belgian defender Vincent Kompany.
Stroeykens revealed that he sees Lukakau and Tielemans in Belgium during international duty and he knows the Aston Villa man a bit better than the Chelsea out-on-loan forward.
He also revealed that he looks up to Tielemans because, like Stroeykens, the Aston Villa man also started his senior career with Anderlecht before he moved on to play in France and England.
“I never had a real idol, but I did have players I looked up to”, Stroeykens told Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad.
“Especially top players that I saw at Neerpede [the Anderlecht youth centre].
“Players like Tielemans, Lukaku, Kompany, our youth coaches often talked about them.
“They are examples because they made the same journey as us.
“I sometimes bump into Youri and Romelu here in Tubize.
“I know Youri a little better than Romelu.”
Tielemans has mostly been an off-the-bench player in the league for Unai Emery, but the Belgian will be looking to get in the starting eleven to become a vital cog in the Villans’ engine room.
