Leicester City legend Jamie Vardy has backed Youri Tielemans to reach another level at Manchester United, describing his former team-mate as 'unbelievable'. United triggered a £35million release clause in the Belgian's contract at Aston Villa last month, with Tielemans signing a five-year deal at Old Trafford that ties him to the club until 2031.
Vardy's verdict on Tielemans
Speaking on his Jamie Vardy's Having A Party podcast, Vardy recalled first encountering Tielemans when playing against Belgium, saying: 'I played against him with Belgium, he was unbelievable and you were like, "Wow, who is this?", because he was only young at the time.'
Vardy also remembered Tielemans' arrival at Leicester, initially on loan, and the impression he made on the squad: 'It then came through that we [Leicester] had signed him on loan at first and I remember going around all the lads and saying, "We've signed a player here!", and I mean a really good player. He came in and straight away you could tell… the dedication, 100 per cent every day.'
'He would then get in the dressing room and he was so down to earth, so normal. He was a real breath of fresh air for us at that time,' Vardy added.
Morgan echoes praise
Wes Morgan, a guest on the podcast, echoed Vardy's remarks, highlighting Tielemans' 'dedication' to his profession. 'What I've seen with Youri is dedication to his job,' the ex-Leicester captain explained. 'I always used to see him in the gym, working extra hard and doing extra work. He was really working on improving himself. He never took it easy in training, he always gave it 100 per cent, but he's another one that has that technical capability, that awareness and that speed of thought.'
Morgan added: 'I'm not surprised to see him go to the top and be at Manchester United now. Hopefully he'll show everyone how good he is. He deserves everything that he's got so far.'
Tielemans' path to United
Tielemans, 29, played an instrumental role in Aston Villa's Europa League win and a fourth-placed Premier League finish last season. Before that, he scored the winning goal in Leicester's FA Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley. He revealed he had held discussions with United on two previous occasions before his move this summer.
United saw Tielemans in action during a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month. He also came off the bench against Leeds and completed the full 90 minutes in a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan in Poland. He is expected to feature as United begin their Premier League campaign away to newly promoted Hull City this weekend.
