I Owe Aston Villa, But Man United Are Above Them – Tielemans

Manchester United’s new midfielder, Youri Tielemans, has said he owes Aston Villa “the world” for reviving his career, but insisted that joining Manchester United represents a step above his former club.

Tielemans completed a £35m move to Old Trafford this summer on a five-year deal, with United triggering his release clause while the Belgium international was on World Cup duty.

The move followed two previous unsuccessful attempts by United to sign him, in 2019 and 2022.

“There had been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve anything,” he said, recalling the earlier interest.

“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,” he said.

On his exit from Villa, Tielemans has said, “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,” he said, adding, “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.”

Speaking during his first extended media interview since joining United, Tielemans, who scored the winning goal in Leicester’s 2021 FA Cup final win and the opener in Villa’s Europa League triumph over Freiburg in May, has said he intends to continue contributing goals at his new club. Asked whether he could bring goals to Manchester United, he said, “That’s the aim.”

He also spoke on his developing partnership with United captain, Bruno Fernandes, which senior club officials reportedly noticed during the side’s 1-1 draw with Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg last weekend.

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

On concerns over his workload following his withdrawal from Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain due to a fitness issue, Tielemans said he remains in good condition.

“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,” he stated.

He said he does not consider himself a player who requires frequent rest.

“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,” the Belgian said.

On settling into his new environment, Tielemans credited former Leicester team-mate, Jonny Evans, who is now at United, with helping ease his transition, noting that Evans had given a positive character reference to head coach, Michael Carrick.

He also spoke about Marcus Rashford, a former team-mate at Aston Villa who has since returned to Manchester United.

“He was great,” Tielemans said of Rashford. “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,” the former Leicester playmaker said.

On his role under Carrick, Tielemans said the manager wants him to play with freedom on the pitch.

“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,” he added.