Manchester United have secured the signature of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa in a deal that sends a clear message about their ambitions for next s...
Manchester United have secured the signature of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa in a deal that sends a clear message about their ambitions for next season. The Belgian international has penned a five year contract at Old Trafford, with the club forking out £35 million to bring him north.This is a fascinating move, not least because Tielemans has often been the quiet architect in the engine room, a player whose value is measured in the subtlety of his passing rather than the volume of his goals. For United, who have at times looked like a side short of composure in the middle third, this signing feels like an injection of pure, unadulterated class. You have to ask: does this spell the end for the ageing Casemiro, or is Erik ten Hag building a midfield that can finally control games from the first whistle to the lastThe transfer fee, while not a record breaker, is a very sensible piece of business. In a market where mediocrity costs fifty million, getting a player of Tielemans's experience and technical ability for thirty five feels like a bargain. Villa will be disappointed to lose him, of course. Unai Emery's side have built their revival on a strong, dynamic midfield, and Tielemans was the metronome that kept everything ticking. His ability to dictate the tempo, to find a forward pass through a low block, is precisely the quality United have lacked since the days of Michael Carrick. He is not a box to box bruiser, but a footballer who thinks three moves ahead.What United are getting is a player who can break lines, who can take a quick free kick and who has the nerve to perform on the biggest stage. His time at Leicester City proved he can thrive in a counter attacking system, but his intelligence suggests he can adapt to a more possession based philosophy. The big question now is whether he will be given a defined role or asked to simply be a jack of all trades. If Ten Hag gives him the keys to the midfield, United might just have unearthed the missing piece of their puzzle. This one has the whiff of a masterstroke about it.
