By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: Manchester United.
Manchester United Football Club have confirmed the signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for about £35m on a five-year deal.
Tielemans signing follows United’s recruitment of another midfielder, Andrey Santos, who is 22, from Chelsea for £48m plus a possible £2m in add-ons on Monday.
Tielemans has spent the past three seasons with Villa, having initially moved to the Premier League to join Leicester City in 2019.
“It’s hard to describe just how proud I am to join Manchester United,” he said. “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 will wear the number 18 shirt vacated by fellow midfielder Casemiro, who left Old Trafford when his contract expired at the end of the season.
A former team-mate of United’s current first-team coach Jonny Evans, Tielemans is noted for scoring Leicester’s winner against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final and for Aston Villa in their Europa League final triumph over Freiburg in May.
He made his senior debut for Anderlecht aged 16 years and 82 days, and left for Monaco in 2017, just after his 20th birthday.
Despite still being in his 20s, Tielemans has already played 668 games for club and country, scoring 79 from 578 club appearances.
United’s director of football Jason Wilcox said: “Youri has consistently been one of the most outstanding midfielders in the Premier League throughout the past seven years.
“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.”