Manchester United signed Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans on Tuesday on a five-year contract from Aston Villa.
The announcement of the deal for Tielemans for a reported 35 million pounds ($46.8 million) comes a day after Brazil midfielder Andrey Santos joined from Chelsea.
United is looking to overhaul his midfield this summer following the departure of Casemiro as a free agent.
“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," said United's director of football Jason Wilcox.
Tielemans has played 90 games for Belgium and just returned from the World Cup. He won the FA Cup with Leicester City in 2021 and the Europa League with Villa last season.
“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," he said. “I have had the privilege of experiencing success in the game and it has only increased my determination to achieve more.”
United is back in the Champions League next season after a two-year absence and was expected to be active in the transfer market to cope with competing in European club soccer's top competition and challenge for the Premier League title.
Wilcox said the 29-year-old Tielemans fits with that plan.
"We are delighted to welcome a player of his influence and experience, both on the pitch and within the dressing room, as we continue to build a team ready to challenge for the biggest honours,” he said.
On Tuesday, United also completed the signing goalkeeper Karl Darlow from Leeds on a two-year deal, with the option of a further year.
“This is a really special opportunity; everyone can see what an exciting time it is for the club and I cannot wait to play my part in supporting my teammates and helping to drive the group forwards,” Darlow said.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
CA Is Burning said:
Connie Weiss said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.