Manchester United won’t have any problems with background checks on incoming new signing Youri Tielemans.
In one of the surprise transfers of the summer, Youri Tielemans will sign for Manchester United from Aston Villa.
Tielemans is a player with lots of past Manchester United connections, with the Red Devils linked with signing him as far back as 2013.
And if United needed a further reference for Tielemans, there are lots of former Manchester United players to call on who have played alongside him, including a couple of current ones.
Jonny Evans – 127 games
Jonny Evans could have been a critical part of this deal, with the Northern Irishman currently part of Michael Carrick’s coaching staff.
Evans played alongside Tielemans at Leicester City in 127 separate matches. Only eight players more across the midfielder’s whole career have played alongside the midfielder more times.
Tielemans and Evans were part of the Leicester team that won the FA Cup in 2021.
Romelu Lukaku – 52 games
Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has played alongside Youri Tielemans 52 times. This figure can still increase.
Tielemans has 90 international caps for Belgium in total. He has combined with Lukaku for five goals.
Jadon Sancho – 20 games
Youri Tielemans and Jadon Sancho played 20 games together for Aston Villa during the 2025/26 season, during the winger’s loan spell.
Victor Lindelof – 18 games
Another played who linked up with Tielemans at Aston Villa last season is Victor Lindelof. Under manager Unai Emery, the pair won the Europa League with both players starting in midfield in the final.
Marcus Rashford – 17
During the 2024/25 season, Youri Tielemans played alongside Marcus Rashford, who was sent out on loan to Aston Villa.
Alexander Buttner – 12 games
A real blast from the past, former Manchester United defender Alexander Buttner and Youri Tielemans are former teammates.
Buttner and Tielemans played together at Anderlecht in 2016, when the Dutch defender was loaned out by Dynamo Moscow.
Harry Maguire – 11 games
Youri Tielemans signed with Leicester on loan in January 2019 before joining permanently in the summer. This meant that he did play alongside Harry Maguire, who signed for United in August 2019.
Maguire and Tielemans played 11 matches together, which included a 3-0 victory over Arsenal.
Adnan Januzaj – 7 games
Youri Tielemans and former United wonderkid Adnan Januzaj briefly linked up for Belgium, most notably at World Cup 2018.
Tielemans provided the assist for Januzaj to score the winning goal against England in the final group game between the two teams.
Marouane Fellaini – 4
Ex-United midfielder Marouane Fellaini earned 87 caps for the Belgian national team. Tielemans has 90 in total now, and they crossed over together four times.
Marnick Vermijl – 3
Marnick Vermijl was a former Manchester United youth team prospect who joined the club from Standard Liege in 2010. He made two appearances for United’s first team.
Vermijl and Tielemans crossed paths for Belgium’s under-21 team.
Senne Lammens – 2
Senne Lammens is Manchester United’s first choice goalkeeper and this number will rise over the years ahead.
Lammens has played alongside Tielemans twice for Belgium. He is expected to eventually succeed Thibaut Courtois for his country.
Danny Simpson – 1
Former Manchester United prospect Danny Simpson won the league with Leicester City, and he briefly crossed over with Tielemans, playing one match together.
Matty James – 1
Matty James was the former Manchester United youth team captain, who was named on the bench by Sir Alex Ferguson but never made a first team appearance.
James played alongside Tielemans once at Leicester City, where he made more than 100 appearances. He is currently starring for Wrexham.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
