Youri Tielemans says joining Manchester United is the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition after completing a £35 million move from Aston Villa on a five-year contract.
The Belgium international, who recently helped his country reach the World Cup quarter-finals, becomes one of United’s marquee additions of the summer after the club activated the release clause in his Villa deal.
“It’s hard to describe just how proud I am to join Manchester United,” Tielemans said following the announcement.
“Signing for such a special club feels incredible.
“It is the culmination of years of dedication since I first fell in love with football.”
Tielemans arrives in good form
Tielemans arrives at Old Trafford after three seasons at Aston Villa, having previously spent four-and-a-half years with Leicester City following his move to the Premier League in 2019.
The 29-year-old leaves English football with an impressive list of achievements, including scoring Leicester’s winning goal against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final and helping Villa lift the Europa League with victory over Freiburg in May.
His career began at Anderlecht, where he became one of the youngest players in the club’s history to make a senior appearance when he debuted at the age of 16 years and 82 days.
He moved to Monaco in 2017 shortly after his 20th birthday before eventually establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders.
Despite still being in his twenties, Tielemans has already amassed 668 appearances for club and country and earned 90 caps for Belgium.
Manchester United director of football Jason Wilcox believes the midfielder’s experience and quality make him an ideal fit for the club’s rebuild under Michael Carrick.
“Youri has consistently been one of the most outstanding midfielders in the Premier League throughout the past seven years,” Wilcox said.
“He has all of the technical qualities, as well as the ambition and mentality, to thrive at Manchester United.”
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