I owe Villa the world but Man Utd are above them - Tielemans

By

Manchester United reporter in Maynooth

It was third time lucky this summer in the history of Youri Tielemans and Manchester United.

United looked seriously at the Belgium midfielder in 2019, after Tielemans had impressed in an initial loan spell at Leicester. And again in 2022, as they spent too long holding out for Frenkie de Jong to decide if he was prepared to leave Barcelona.

But it was this July, while the 29-year-old was on World Cup duty, when the Old Trafford outfit made their move, triggering a £35m release clause to snap Tielemans up on a five-year deal from Aston Villa.

"There had been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve anything," he recalled.

"I was very calm. I was not expecting much this summer, to be fair. I was just focused on my football, focused on the World Cup and trying to perform my best for my country.

"But you know every summer something can happen and obviously I was aware of the clause.

"I am very thankful to Aston Villa. I owe them the world. It is a great club, we did amazing things and they have put me back to my best level. But there are clubs above Villa, and Manchester United is one of them.

"It is a great achievement for any footballer to end up here. It means you have done well in your career. But it does not end there. I want to be successful."

Tielemans cuts a relaxed figure as he conducts his first extended media interview since his switch from Villa, taking time to personally shake hands with all the journalists present.

He positively beams at points, noticeably when he is asked whether – given he scored Leicester's winner in the 2021 FA Cup final and then the opener for Villa in their Europa League triumph over Freiburg in May – if he can bring goals to Manchester United.

"That's the aim," he replied.

It is also clear from his expression a partnership with skipper Bruno Fernandes is developing.

Senior Manchester United officials noticed it in Gothenburg last weekend, even though the pair were only on the pitch together for 26 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Paris St-Germain.

"It's really natural," he said. "He is a guy that can find space easily. I just try and find him so that he can move forward."

Tielemans is thoughtful though, and expansive in his answers, even if sometimes what he says is not quite what you expect to hear.

One of those is around the length of his career and the number of games he has played.

He made his professional debut for Anderlecht at 16. He has played 668 games for club and country and had to pull out of Belgium's World Cup quarter-final clash with Spain last month after experiencing an issue in the warm-up.

"I feel very good, actually," he said.

"In that last game, it was just an overload of too many games; too many minutes. Unfortunately, my body could not cope with it anymore.

"We played 120 minutes against Senegal, then played the US a few days later, three days after that we played against Spain.

"In the warm-up, my body just switched off for some reason.

"I do not think I am a player that absolutely needs a rest. Obviously, there are a lot of games, and the manager needs to manage the team, but when I am good, I am good.

"When it does not go well, I will know straight away and I will alert the manager. But it does not happen often."

While Tielemans is new to Manchester United, there are some familiar faces helping him to settle in.

Chief among them is Jonny Evans, a former team-mate at Leicester. The pair have remained close and Evans offered a positive character reference to head coach Michael Carrick.

Tielemans also played with Harry Maguire for a short period at Leicester, and Marcus Rashford was a team-mate at Aston Villa.

To the surprise of many, including himself probably, Rashford is back at his boyhood club, having initially left for Villa under a cloud after his fall-out with Ruben Amorim.

"He was great," said Tielemans.

"There had been so much talk about him, bringing pressure and the media around him, but he was so good.

"He was very humble and hard-working, and from the first training session you could tell his touch and acceleration was just amazing. That was what we needed at the time. He did many good things and hopefully he can bring them here."

It could be argued Tielemans' arrival addresses an issue Manchester United has had since Carrick quit in 2018; the scheming midfielder with an eye for a pass, who can break a defensive line.

In theory, it will allow Fernandes more room further forward and offer the opportunity to control games for a team that has, in recent times, tended to be viewed as being better on the counter-attack.

Tielemans had a brief chat with Carrick before he completed his move.

But the past 10 days have offered a great insight into Carrick's expectations.

"He wants me to be free on the pitch, to try and organise the team the best I can," he said.

"He has got his structure. He wants to have the ball and wants to press in certain ways.

"It might be different than what I am used to, but it is logical things in my opinion.

"It is just smelling football, which is what I have been doing from when I was young at Anderlecht, you know.

"For me, nothing changes, but it just needs to gel together."

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12/08/2026