Youri Tielemans to Manchester United: Mikel Calls £35m Deal a Steal
Manchester United have made plenty of expensive mistakes in midfield over the years. This one, according to two men who know the Premier League and Belgian football inside out, is the opposite.
Youri Tielemans to United for £35m? For John Obi Mikel, that’s daylight robbery.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, the former Chelsea midfielder could barely contain his disbelief at the fee. “For me, it’s Youri Tielemans,” he said. “Honestly, how the f*ck did Manchester United get him for £35m? That’s a f*cking steal. I watched him before and during the World Cup, and you can see that this is a player.”
Mikel has seen enough elite midfielders up close to recognise one. What strikes him most is not just Tielemans’ technique, but the sheer range of roles he can cover in the centre of the pitch.
“Obviously, we all know how Tielemans plays, he can play as a six, an eight or a ten,” Mikel explained. “When you have a player that can play anywhere, it gives you the variety to change the way you want to play. Tielemans is that guy. He scores goals, he’s dangerous from set pieces, he’s brilliant on the ball, and he rarely gives it away.”
That versatility is exactly what United have lacked in recent years: a midfielder who can anchor, link, and create without needing the whole system built around him.
There is, Mikel admitted, one familiar caveat. “The only thing people can say is that he’s not the quickest,” he said. But he dismissed that concern just as quickly. Tielemans, he argued, compensates with his brain. “He reads the game so well. He is very intelligent with and without the ball. When I look at all the midfielders that have transferred to different clubs [this summer], the best one is Tielemans.”
For Mikel, in a window full of inflated prices and speculative punts, United have found value and certainty in the same player.
Alderweireld: The Risk-Taker United Have Been Missing
Mikel is not alone. Toby Alderweireld, who shared a dressing room with Tielemans for Belgium and knows the demands at the top end of the Premier League from his time at Tottenham, sees a different side of the same story.
For him, the key isn’t just what Tielemans does. It’s what he dares to do.
In an interview with Hajper, Alderweireld pushed back against the obsession with raw numbers that often shapes modern recruitment. “The problem with modern football is that sometimes we look too much at stats like assists and goals,” he said. “Of course, Youri Tielemans creates assists and scores goals, and can shoot from outside the box and score free kicks, but he is so much more than that.”
This is where Alderweireld’s description cuts to the heart of why United, a side that so often labours against packed defences, might have landed exactly the profile they need.
“Tielemans is a link up player, and you have to watch him to understand why he is so important to his teams, not just look at his stats,” he said. “He is always trying to play the ball forward. You have some midfield players who have a pass success rate of 98% but they are always playing the ball backwards. Tielemans is a guy who turns, opens up and plays the ball between the lines, and that’s very important for a club like Manchester United who need to break other teams down.”
The picture is clear: not a sideways metronome, but a midfielder who looks up, risks the vertical pass, and lives in the spaces where games are decided. For a team routinely accused of sterile possession and predictable build-up, that edge matters.
Built for Old Trafford Pressure
Alderweireld didn’t stop at the technical side. For him, Tielemans’ mentality under pressure may be the real difference-maker at Old Trafford.
“Even when he’s playing in a deep role, he’s playing it in an attacking way,” Alderweireld said. “He’s thinking about going forwards, always. Sometimes he will lose the ball but that’s what happens when you take some risks in games to make things happen, and I think that’s something United need, and he has the mentality to be brave and positive under the big pressure of the shirt.”
That last line matters. The “big pressure of the shirt” at Manchester United has crushed more expensive signings than the club would care to admit. Alderweireld is convinced Tielemans won’t hide.
“He will put in ultra big effort and say to his team-mates, give me the ball and let me change the game for you,” he added. “He will take the responsibility to take Manchester United forward.”
Between Mikel’s tactical endorsement and Alderweireld’s character reference, a pattern emerges. United haven’t just signed a neat passer or a set-piece threat. They have brought in a multi-role midfielder who wants the ball, embraces risk, and welcomes responsibility in the most scrutinised midfield in English football.
If £35m really is a “f*cking steal”, as Mikel insists, the only question left is how quickly Tielemans can turn that bargain into authority on the pitch.
