Youri Tielemans on Adapting to Manchester United's Style

Youri Tielemans says adapting to Michael Carrick’s Manchester United is as natural to him as “smelling football” – and he sounds like he means it.

The £35m signing, fresh from Aston Villa and armed with 579 senior appearances, has walked into a new dressing room and a new idea of United, yet talks about it as if he’s simply gone back to the basics he learned as a teenager at Anderlecht.

‘Just smelling football’

Carrick’s demands are clear. So, it seems, is Tielemans’ response.

“He has got his structure. He wants to have the ball, he wants to press in certain ways, you know,” the 29-year-old said during United’s pre-season tour. “It might be different than what you are used to, what I have been used to before, but it is logical things in my opinion. It is just smelling football, and that is what I have been doing from when I was young at Anderlecht.”

That line – “smelling football” – sums up why United believe he will slot in quickly. Tielemans made his debut for Anderlecht at 16, left Belgium for Monaco in 2017, then established himself in the Premier League with Leicester in 2019 before moving to Villa four years later. He has seen most things a midfield can throw at you.

“So for me, nothing changes, but it just needs to gel together,” he explained. “Then when you follow those principles, then you can add your offensive qualities, especially in the last third where everything is a bit more in freedom, without obviously overcommitting and keeping the defensive line in place, then I think we can do good things.”

The early signs came in Gothenburg, where he pulled on a United shirt for the first time in a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain, having spent 10 days getting up to speed with Carrick’s instructions on tour.

Structure first, freedom later

Carrick wants control of the ball, coordinated pressing and a disciplined defensive line. Tielemans talks about it as if it’s second nature: principles first, expression later.

That balance – order behind him, freedom in front – is where United hope his experience will tell. The Belgian has long been known for his ability to dictate rhythm, but he clearly sees this United as a side where his brain matters as much as his boots.

Fitness doubts pushed aside

Tielemans started only 25 Premier League games last season at Villa because of injury. He then suffered a hamstring problem in the warm-up before Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain in July, a jarring moment for a player who had already spent 13 years battling in midfield at the top level.

He rejects the idea that Carrick will need to wrap him in cotton wool.

“Not really,” he said when asked if he needs more rest these days. “The thing is, at the World Cup, I think we played 120 minutes against Senegal [before Spain], and from there we had less time in between games. So we played the US I think three or four days later [actually five days] and then three days later we played against Spain. In the warm-up, my body just switched off for some reason.

“Now, I do not think I am a player that I absolutely need a rest. Obviously, there are a lot of games and the manager needs to manage the team, but when I am good, I am good, you know.

“Unfortunately, my body is … when it does not go well, then I will know straight away and I will alert the manager, but it does not happen often.”

United will still manage his minutes, but he plainly sees himself as a regular, not a rotation piece.

A long courtship finally ends

United’s interest in Tielemans is not new. The club circled him before; the deal only landed now.

“There has been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve to anything, so I was just very calm about it. It was way after Anderlecht,” he revealed.

This time, United triggered his release clause and, by his account, had a clear run at him.

“Not that I am aware of, no,” Tielemans said when asked if there had been rival bidders.

So a pursuit that flickered in 2019 and 2022 finally reached its conclusion. Now the onus shifts to the pitch, to whether this seasoned midfielder, who says football still comes to him as easily as a scent in the air, can turn Carrick’s structure into something more tangible: control, creativity, and the kind of authority United have been searching for in the centre of the pitch for years.