Manchester United have completed the signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa on a five-year deal.
United have met a release clause of £35million for the 29-year-old midfielder, who has just helped Belgium reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
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.”
Last season, Tielemans suffered separate calf and ankle problems that restricted him to 35 appearances in all competitions for Villa, the lowest number in a campaign during his time in England.
He scored a memorable 89th-minute equaliser at the World Cup for Belgium against Senegal, and then converted an extra-time winner from the penalty spot for his 15th goal from 90 caps as they won 3-2.
But his tournament came to a premature end when he was injured in the warm-up before Belgium’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat by Spain.
Tielemans’ signing follows that of fellow midfielder Andrey Santos and goalkeeper Karl Darlow, while a move for Atalanta midfielder Ederson has been put on hold.
Gov Mbah Receives LBA Legacy Award for Making Rangers Champions
The Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has been resented with the LBA Legacy Award for Governors in recognition of his outstanding contributions to football development in the state and for strengthening the Rangers International Football Club brand.
In three years, Rangers have won the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) title twice and the first to achieve the feat in the last decade.
Governor Mbah was presented with the award during the 2026 Gala of Nigeria’s foremost independent league awards, the League Bloggers Awards, in Lagos.
Receiving the award on behalf of Governor Mbah, the State’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Barrister Lloyd Ekweremadu, expressed gratitude to the organisers, describing the honour as a fitting recognition of the administration’s deliberate efforts to reposition football in the state and strengthen Rangers as a leading club in Nigerian football.
Ekweremadu said: “I am here on behalf of his Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubusisi Mbah to receive this special award. This is a very special honour for His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah. He was pleasantly surprised about this the award because when he was doing all he did, he was not expecting an award.
“The award is very fitting and we are humbled and grateful for this recognition.
We consider it a fitting acknowledgement of his commitment to football development in Enugu State and the continued support for Rangers International FC.
“His Excellency Dr. Mbah deemed it necessary to invest massively in our football club and we’ve seen the result in the form of winning two NPFL Titles within three years.”
Ekweremadu reiterated the Governor’s decision to allow private sector investment in the club.
“His Excellency encouraged private participation in football which is why we have sponsors like Afrinvest, who have been very influential and very critical to the success Rangers has enjoyed. We also have Notra Tractors and so many others who not been officially named”, he added.
Ekweremadu assured the League Bloggers Association (LBA) that the Enugu State Government would continue to build on the achievements that earned the award, particularly in the areas of sports development, club support, and creating an enabling environment for private sector investment in football.
The LBA Legacy Award underscores the growing impact of his administration’s investment in sports development and its determination to restore Enugu’s pride of place in Nigerian football.
