Manchester United have swooped to sign Aston Villa midfield marvel Youri Tielemans in a move that was unexpected but could prove very shrewd given his impressive credentials.
Michael Carrick is looking to strengthen his midfield options and the Red Devils are close to landing the 29-year-old after triggering a £36million release clause in his contract.
Tielemans’ deal at Villa Park runs until 2028 and he would bring technical quality and Premier League know-how to the United engine room. The pass master also has an eye for a spectacular goal on the big occasion – having embarked on a remarkable career so far.
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Tielemans is a youth product of Anderlecht and signed his first professional contract with the Belgian giants aged just 16. Once the fourth-youngest player in Belgian Pro League history, he also became the youngest Belgian player to play in the Champions League, facing Olympiacos at the age of 16 years and 148 days in 2013.
He helped Anderlecht lift the Belgian Pro League in his debut season and won the Belgian Young Player of the Year award in each of his first two seasons, before winning the title again in 2016/17, when he was named Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year.
In May 2017, Tielemans joined French titans Monaco on a five-year deal for a fee of around £21m. He was branded a flop after struggling to make an impression in Ligie 1, yet the following year he was handed a career lifeline.
In January 2019, Tielemans joined Leicester City on loan until the end of the season, with impressive early showings earning him a permanent £32m summer transfer to the Foxes. And glory would follow with the former Premier League champions.
In May 2021, he scored the only goal of the 2021 FA Cup Final with a long-range screamer against Chelsea in the 63rd minute, sealing Leicester’s first ever FA Cup. He was named the man of the match and later won Leicester’s Supporters’ Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year awards.
In 2022, Tielemans was linked with a transfer to Arsenal, and there was speculation over whether he would sign a new contract. But in June 2023, after Leicester’s relegation, he instead moved to Aston Villa on a free transfer.
At the end-of-season awards for the 2024–25 campaign, Tielemans was voted both Supporters’ and Players’ Player of the Season for Aston Villa. But there was more to come.
In May, he again delivered when it counts most, opening the scoring with an astonishing volley in a 3–0 victory over SC Freiburg in the Europa League final, helping the Midlanders end a 30-year trophy drought after finishing fourth in the Premier League.
He’s also shone at international level. He made his debut aged just 19 in 2016 and was part of the Belgian starting XI under Roberto Martínez who beat England 2–0 win to finish an impressive third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Having played in Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, in September 2025 he was named captain of his country by manager Rudi Garcia.
He scored an 89th-minute equaliser against Senegal in the Round of 32 to complete Belgium’s thrilling comeback from two goals down, before putting away an ice cold penalty in the 125th minutes of extra time to secure a 3–2 victory and send Belgium into the Round of 16.
In doing so he became only the second Belgian to score multiple goals in a World Cup knockout match – Bernard Voorhoof previously achieved the feat in 1934. A hamstring injury forced him out of the team ahead of the Round of 16 defeat to Spain.
He has has played as a box-to-box midfielder at Leicester, a number 10 under Unai Emery at Aston Villa, and as a deep-lying playmaker known for his passing range. He set a Premier League record in November 2024, completing 126 successful passes in Villa’s 3–2 victory against Everton.
During the 2025–26 season, a tactical analysis highlighted his superb passing range; he led all Premier League midfield or attacking players in defensive lines broken per 100 passes and ranked first for defensive and central midfield players for passes breaking two lines.