Manchester United have completed the signing of Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa after triggering his £35 million ($47 million)release clause, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday, June 14.
The 29-year-old has signed a five-year contract with United after helping Belgium reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup. He becomes the club’s latest addition of the summer following the arrivals of midfielder Andrey Santos and goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
“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.” Tielemans said after the move was confirmed.
Tielemans will take over the number 18 shirt vacated by Casemiro, who left Old Trafford at the end of last season when his contract expired.
The Belgian international joins United after three campaigns at Aston Villa, having first moved to England in 2019 with Leicester City. During his time in the Premier League, he established himself as one of the competition’s most consistent midfielders, notably scoring Leicester’s winning goal against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final and helping Villa lift the Europa League title against Freiburg in May.
United director of football Jason Wilcox praised the club’s new signing, describing him as one of the league’s standout midfielders.
“Youri has consistently been one of the most outstanding midfielders in the Premier League throughout the past seven years,” Wilcox said.
Adding that “He has all of the technical qualities, as well as the ambition and mentality, to thrive at Manchester United. Youri’s consistency is exceptional, and he will add further composure, creativity and leadership to our squad.”
Despite still being in his twenties, Tielemans arrives at Old Trafford with extensive experience. He made his senior debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16 before moving to Monaco in 2017 and has since played 668 matches for club and country, scoring 79 goals.
His most recent season at Villa was disrupted by calf and ankle injuries, limiting him to 35 appearances in all competitions, his fewest in a campaign since arriving in England.
Tielemans also impressed for Belgium at the World Cup, scoring a late equalizer against Senegal before converting an extra-time penalty in a 3-2 victory. However, his tournament ended prematurely after he suffered an injury during the warm-up ahead of Belgium’s quarter-final defeat to Spain.
