Online Reporter
MANCHESTER UNITED are in discussions to sign Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.
United have turned to Tielemans, 29, after missing out on prime midfield targets Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes.
The move for Tielemans represents a drastic shift in United’s recruitment strategy as their preferred age range for targets is between 22 and 26.
He is expected to cost between £35-40million with a medical scheduled for Tuesday, SunSport understands.
A sense of chaos has engulfed United, who ignored enquiries about their approach for Tielemans early on Thursday morning.
They have switched targets after a move for Atalanta star Ederson broke down.
The Brazilian failed his medical – leaving United short of a player who had been expected to join once the World Cup finished.
The club denied they had agreed a £48million move with £2m in add-ons for Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos last Monday.
It then emerged on Tuesday they had agreed a deal for the player for the exact same fee.
United are planning a serious overhaul in the middle of the park this summer after Casemiro‘s exit.
Manuel Ugarte – who had been expected to leave the club – has been ruled out of action with a serious long-term injury.
Belgium international Tielemans was sent packing from the World Cup last week after his side lost late on to Spain in the quarter-finals.
He moved to Villa in 2023 on a free transfer from Leicester.
Experienced pro Tielemans has 90 caps for his country and is the current captain.
He played 35 times in all competitions under Unai Emery for Villa last season and has nearly 250 Premier League games under his belt.
Villa’s own midfield stocks have been left in short supply after Amadou Onana suffered a bad knee injury of his own during the World Cup.
United start their ore-season on Saturday, July 18 – a day before the World Cup final – with a friendly against Wrexham in Helsinki.
A host of key players will not be available for boss Michael Carrick as they get a belated summer holiday after the tournament.
They go to Norway six days later to face Rosenborg.
United then have fixtures against Atletico Madrid (August 1) and PSG (August 8) in Sweden.
Their final scheduled match before the Prem opener at Hull is in Dublin against Leeds -Sun.
