Tielemans says adapting to Carrick’s Manchester United plan has come naturally
Youri Tielemans said on 12 August 2026 that adapting to Michael Carrick’s vision at Manchester United has felt natural as he integrates with the squad during the club’s pre-season tour in Gothenburg after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain. The 29-year-old, signed from Aston Villa for £35m last month, described the process as “It is just smelling football”.
Tielemans began his senior career with Anderlecht, making his debut at 16, and has since played for Monaco, Leicester and Aston Villa. He moved to Monaco in 2017, joined Leicester in 2019 and signed for Villa four years later, accumulating 579 career appearances. The midfielder has spent the past 10 days training with United on their pre-season tour and made his first appearance for the club in Gothenburg.
On Carrick’s methods Tielemans outlined what he is being asked to do and why it fits his experience, saying: “He has got his structure. He wants to have the ball, he wants to press in certain ways, you know. 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.”
Tielemans said recent injury issues have limited him — he started only 25 Premier League matches last season and suffered a hamstring problem in the warm-up before Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain in July — but he rejected the idea he requires regular enforced rest. “Not really. 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.”
Asked about past contact with United, Tielemans confirmed the club showed interest in 2019 and 2022 and said he had spoken to them on two occasions. “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,” Tielemans said.
United triggered Tielemans’s release clause to complete the transfer, and when asked whether there had been competition to sign him he replied: “Not that I am aware of, no.”