Youri Tielemans was unveiled as a Manchester United player, admitting it is an honour he was been working towards.
Issuing his first words as a Manchester United player, £35 million bargain Youri Tielemans declared that he feels he has earned his move to Old Trafford.
Tielemans told club media: “It’s hard to describe just how proud I am to join Manchester United. Signing for such a special club feels incredible, it is the culmination of years of dedication since I first fell in love with football.”
It’s true, 29-year-old Tielemans has worked hard to get to this point. He has been on United’s radar before, dating all the way back to when he made his professional debut in 2013. Michael Carrick even played against him in 2017.
The most recent opportunity United had to sign Tielemans was in 2023, when he left Leicester City as a free agent. Aston Villa scooped him up on a free transfer, while United spent £55 million on Mason Mount.
But there is a real case that both Tielemans and United are better off for this particular deal happening now in 2026. Let us lay it all out below…
FACT: Youri Tielemans is the best value signing any Premier League club will make all summer!
We challenge you to disagree! How would you rate this deal out of 10?
Tielemans deal better in 2026
Here are three reasons why 2026 is the right time for Tielemans to sign with United…
Erik ten Hag’s United were entering a downward spiral
Youri Tielemans now has the chance to work under one of Manchester United’s greatest midfielders, Michael Carrick. To make the situation even better, Carrick will have had a say in the decision to sign him and will be excited to work with him.
Back in 2023, United were in a more challenging place. Erik ten Hag oversaw a spending spree on Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana, which led to the the team finishing in eighth place, dropping from third the previous year.
There was also a group stage Champions League exit, and honestly, Tielemans was better off away from all of this. Ten Hag was fired three months into the following season.
But there’s another element too. If Youri Tielemans had been signed on a free transfer, would Kobbie Mainoo have ever been given a first team opportunity? 2023/24 was his breakthrough year, the platform for him becoming a first team player, a chance Ruben Amorim would never have given him.
Tielemans had hit poor form and was not ready
Youri Tielemans hit great heights at Leicester City, leading them to winning the FA Cup in 2021. But 2022/23 was a far more challenging year. Leicester were relegated from the Premier League and he did not look like the game-changer who Manchester United needed at that time.
Tielemans experienced a tough start at Aston Villa. Unai Emery did not select him to start a Premier League game until November.
“It was just that my levels were not good enough at the time,” Tielemans candidly admitted to The Guardian looking back.
At Aston Villa, Tielemans could re-adjust relatively away from the spotlight. Now imagine if it took him four months to earn a league start at Manchester United.
It’s different here. Tielemans would have been labelled a flop immediately, he would have been mocked relentlessly by the media, and climbing the mountain back to his best would have been that much tougher.
And there is no guarantee that Ten Hag’s coaching would have been able to do it as effectively as Unai Emery managed.
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Now he arrives as a Europa League winner
Where would Youri Tielemans be now if he had signed for Erik ten Hag‘s United? There is a chance he would have been discarded already and sold.
Now in 2026, he is signing for a club that is far better run off the pitch and is showing signs of cohesiveness on it.
Tielemans joins as a better player in 2026 than the one who arrived at Villa in 2023 out of form, who had maybe begun to stagnate at Leicester.
He has just impressed at the World Cup for Belgium, fresh off leading Villa to winning the Europa League, where he scored the opening goal in the final.
“I have improved since Leicester. The manager has added things to my game with his tactics,” Tielemans told Sky Sports at the start of the year.
He explained that he has added to his game technically and most importantly, strengthened the defensive side, while also learning to be more patient with his passing.
Manchester United are signing a player at his peak who have a seamless transition to life in Manchester. We cannot say the same about the 2023 version.
£35 million for a near-guaranteed success is better than signing a player for free who might have been set up to fail.
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