Youri Tielemans Adapts to Michael Carrick's Demands at Manchester United
Youri Tielemans says adapting to Michael Carrick’s demands at Manchester United has been as natural as “smelling football” for a midfielder who has lived the game since his mid-teens.
The £35m signing, who arrived from Aston Villa last month, has wasted little time bedding in on United’s pre-season tour. After 10 days working with his new teammates, the 29-year-old made his first appearance in the 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg on Saturday, already looking comfortable in Carrick’s structure.
‘Just smelling football’
Tielemans, who made his Anderlecht debut at 16 and has racked up 579 senior games across Anderlecht, Monaco, Leicester and Villa, sounded unfazed by the tactical tweaks asked of him.
“He has got his structure. He wants to have the ball, he wants to press in certain ways, you know,” Tielemans said of Carrick. “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.
“So for me, nothing changes, but it just needs to gel together. 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 message is clear: do the work, respect the structure, then let the talent breathe higher up the pitch.
Fitness doubts brushed aside
Last season raised questions about his durability. Tielemans managed only 25 Premier League starts because of injury and then suffered a hamstring problem in the warm-up before Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain in July.
He rejects the idea that Carrick will need to wrap him in cotton wool.
“Not really,” he said when asked if he needs to be rested. “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.”
A player who has already lived 13 years in the professional midfield grind is backing his body to hold up under United’s schedule.
Long courtship, clean deal
United’s interest in Tielemans is not new. The club tracked him during his time at Monaco and Leicester, and talks took place in both 2019 and 2022.
“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 said.
This time there was no saga, no auction. United triggered his release clause and, according to Tielemans, faced no rival bids.
“Not that I am aware of, no,” he said when asked if anyone else tried to hijack the move.
Now, after years of glancing at each other from afar, club and player are finally aligned. Carrick has his structure. Tielemans has his instincts. If “smelling football” is enough at Old Trafford, United may have found the metronome they have been missing.
