Youri Tielemans has completed a move to Manchester United this summer, making it third time lucky after two previous attempts to join the club fell through. The Belgian midfielder, who signed from Aston Villa for £35 million, is now part of the plan to replace Casemiro in Michael Carrick's rebuild.
Tielemans first spoke with United four years ago, around the time Casemiro arrived, and again in 2022, but it was only this summer that the club activated his release clause. He has 678 senior games for club and country and turns 30 next May, putting him on track to surpass Lionel Messi's 701 games before that age.
A long road to Old Trafford
A regular starter at Anderlecht at 16 and club captain as a teenager, Tielemans seemed destined for a European superpower early on. Instead, his path took him through Monaco, Leicester City, and Aston Villa before United came calling. Speaking at the club's pre-season base in County Kildare, he said: "It is a great achievement for any player to end up here. There has been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve to anything."
United showed interest when he left Monaco in 2019 and again after his third season at Leicester in 2022. This summer, they were the only club to make a move despite his release clause, and Tielemans has now spoken with Carrick about his role.
Fitness and role under Carrick
Tielemans missed Belgium's World Cup quarter-final defeat to Spain after breaking down in the warm-up and has had calf and groin issues in recent seasons, but he insists he knows his body. "I do not think I am a player that I absolutely need a rest," he said. "Unfortunately, my body is, when it does not go well, then I will know straight away and I will alert the manager, but it does not happen often."
He is expected to play in a midfield focused on possession and progression, becoming the first controlling pass master signed since Carrick retired in 2017. "He wants me to be free on the pitch, to try and organise the team as best as possible," Tielemans said of Carrick's instructions.
Partnership with Fernandes
In United's friendly with Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg, Tielemans came on alongside Bruno Fernandes for the final 20 minutes, their first time playing together. The connection was instant, with Tielemans finding Fernandes in space several times. "Yeah, it is really natural," he said. "I just try and play forward as much as I can, either to Bruno or the front line, to try and put them in positions that they can attack with freedom."
United's recruitment team were partly attracted to Tielemans because they felt his style would complement Fernandes, who is the Premier League's creator-in-chief.
Ambition to restore success
Less than two weeks into his United career, Tielemans is already sending a "positive vibe" around the club. He first faced United in the 2016/17 Europa League, when he captained Anderlecht and Carrick captained United. United's title drought is now in its 14th season, but Tielemans remembers their dominance and is determined to help bring it back.
"I think it is more so being relentless," he said of what United meant to him. "There was always that mentality of winning games, and that is what we are trying to bring back to the club. That is my mentality. I have made it here, but it does not mean anything yet."
