Man Utd announced the signing of Belgium international Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa earlier this week.
Youri Tielemans has revealed Jonny Evans played a small role in his transfer to Manchester United. On Tuesday, United announced the signing of Tielemans for £35million from Aston Villa.
Villa did not want to lose Tielemans this summer, but he expressed a desire to move to Manchester. He signed a five-year contract and will join up with the squad for pre-season after enjoying a post-World Cup break.
Tielemans arrives with bags of Premier League experience, having previously played for Leicester City before his stint with Villa.
Evans played alongside Tielemans at the King Power Stadium. The pair both started in Leicester’s 2021 FA Cup final win over Chelsea, when Tielemans scored from distance to secure a 1-0 victory.
Northern Irishman Evans returned to United on a free transfer when his Leicester contract expired. He retired from playing last summer and now works as a first-team coach on Michael Carrick’s backroom staff.
Tielemans also played with Harry Maguire at Leicester, but it was Evans who played a small role in his transfer.
“I haven’t spoken to Harry yet, but yeah, Jonny, he’s been a big influence,” Tielemans told United’s in-house media. “He spoke with the manager about me, my character, and my personality. I’ve always kept in touch with Jonny. He’s such a great guy.”
Tielemans discussed his move in more detail, adding: “I’m very happy, very excited to start, meet the teammates, and be on the pitch together.
“I’m looking forward to working with the manager. As a midfielder, he can give me a lot of tips, and I can learn from him. So I’m really looking forward to learning and, obviously, linking up with my teammates.
“The second part of last season, they went on a really good run of wins with this manager, and the players have always been the same, big quality inside the team, smart signings last season.
“To play with them is going to be really good. I’m ready to push on, I’m ready to make the next step in my career, and that’s why this is the perfect club for me. And I feel like the club is ambitious in that as well. They want to win and be really good on the pitch. That’s why I chose to come here.”
Speaking about Old Trafford, he added: “I’m yet to experience it as a home player, but as an away player, it’s a tough ground to come to. You can feel the atmosphere straight away once you come into the stadium; the history is there. To play for the home team is going to be nice.”
Tielemans captained Belgium at the World Cup this summer. He started every match at the tournament, scoring twice, until he missed his nation’s quarter-final clash with Spain after picking up a knock in the pre-game warm-up.
The 29-year-old also stepped up to wear the armband in his final season at Leicester.
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