Youri Tielemans on Marcus Rashford's Potential at Manchester United

Youri Tielemans is relishing his reunion with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United – and he is convinced the forward can still reshape his story at Old Trafford if he is trusted with a real chance.

Rashford has been back in first-team training this week, returning to the club he grew up in after 18 months in exile. Loan spells, headlines, and a manager who did not want him: that was his reality under former United boss Ruben Amorim. Now he is back on the grass in Manchester, still with doubts over his long-term future but with the door at least slightly open again.

His most recent stop was Barcelona. The Spanish club had the option to make the move permanent for £26million at the end of last season but walked away, leaving Rashford’s next chapter to be written elsewhere.

Before Catalonia, though, came a detour that Tielemans remembers clearly.

Villa memories and a different Rashford

The pair shared a dressing room at Aston Villa in the second half of the 2024-25 season, a period when Rashford’s name rarely left the back pages for reasons that had little to do with football. A public breakdown in his relationship with Amorim turned him into a lightning rod for criticism.

Under that glare, he could easily have shrunk. Tielemans saw the opposite.

“He was great,” the Belgian said. “There had been so much talk about him and bringing pressure and the media around him, but I thought he was just so good. He was very humble, he was just hard working, and from the first training you could tell his touch, his acceleration was just amazing.

“That was just what we needed at the time at Villa as well, so he did many good things in that time and hopefully he can bring them here.”

Rashford helped Villa reach the Champions League quarter-finals, where they finally ran into eventual winners PSG. It was a short spell, but it left a mark on Tielemans: a reminder that, behind the noise, there is still a player with elite tools.

Now, as both men pull on United colours, Tielemans believes those same qualities can ignite again if Rashford is trusted and given a clear role.

Familiar faces, new roles

Rashford is not the only familiar figure easing Tielemans’ transition into life at Old Trafford. The midfielder has walked into a dressing room that already includes former Leicester City teammates Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans – though Evans now wears a tracksuit rather than a shirt.

“I played with Harry for just a bit less than six months and it was great at the time,” Tielemans said. “You could see him and Jonny had a great partnership. Harry was younger at the time and Jonny was guiding him a bit more, but you could see his qualities on the ball.

“Defensively, he is rock solid, so I think he has improved a lot over the years as well.”

Evans, now part of the first-team coaching staff, has slipped naturally into a mentoring role that Tielemans recognises from their Leicester days.

“On Jonny, Jonny has always been a main character. He has always been trying to educate young players and he welcomed me at Leicester, and now here.

“It is a bit weird to see him as staff member, to be honest, but no, it is going great. He knows me, he knows what I need and what I can bring to the team, so it helps me as well.”

For a new signing, that kind of familiarity matters. Tielemans is stepping into one of the most scrutinised midfields in Europe, but he is doing it with people around him who already understand his game.

Third time lucky at Old Trafford

This move to United has been a long time coming. Tielemans admits he has stood at this particular crossroads twice before, only to see the path close.

“It is a great achievement for any player to end up here,” he said. “There has been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve to anything.

“When a move comes up, then if it needs to happen, it will happen. At the times that I have been linked with the club before, it did not happen, but it is what it is.”

Now he is finally in the building, with Rashford back on the training pitch and old allies in Maguire and Evans close by. The pieces are there. The question, for both Tielemans and Rashford, is simple: can they turn long-awaited opportunities into something lasting at Manchester United?