Tielemans would rather let Villa down than miss out on Manchester United! After twice failing to join the Red Devils, he doesn't want to regret it again.

"I owe Villa a lot, but United are a step above them." For Belgian captain Youri Tielemans, he has already twice come close to joining the Red Devils in his career. When a third opportunity appeared, he didn't want to leave any regrets. Therefore, even if leaking the secret release clause was detrimental to his former club Aston Villa, he was willing to do it.

In 2019, after Tielemans established himself in the Premier League on loan at Leicester City, Manchester United seriously considered signing him. In 2022, when Frenkie de Jong refused to leave Barcelona, United considered Tielemans again. Sadly, neither time progressed further.

In July this year, while the 29-year-old Tielemans was still playing in the World Cup, Manchester United took action, triggering a £35 million release clause to sign him from Villa and agreed a five-year contract.

"I had communicated with the club twice before, but nothing came of it," Tielemans recalled. "This time I was very calm. To be honest, I didn't have many expectations for this summer window. I was just focused on football, focused on the World Cup, trying to get the best results for my country. But as you all know, anything can happen in the summer, and obviously I was aware of that clause."

Speaking about his relationship with Villa, Tielemans said: "I am very grateful to Villa. I owe them so much, so much. It's a great club, we created many wonderful achievements together, and they helped me get back to my best. However, there are clubs above Villa, and Manchester United is one of them. To come here is a huge achievement for any player, showing they have performed well in their career. But this is not the end; I still hope to achieve greater success."

Upon joining the top club Manchester United, Tielemans still appeared very relaxed and friendly, shaking hands with all the British media present. He has scored crucial goals for both Leicester City and Villa, helping his teams win cup finals. In the 2021 FA Cup final against Chelsea, Tielemans scored the winner for Leicester; in May this year, when Villa beat Freiburg to win the Europa League, he opened the scoring in the final.

In the future, Tielemans hopes to achieve the same success for Manchester United. "That's the goal," he said. To achieve it, he must first find chemistry with his new teammates. And Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes may already be on the same wavelength. The two have shown excellent coordination in the last two friendlies, but unfortunately, Bruno missed out on scoring twice.

They have only played together for about an hour, yet Tielemans said: "It feels natural. Bruno (Fernandes) is someone who can easily find space. I just try to create space for him so he can run forward."

Although Tielemans is a new member of Manchester United, there are some familiar faces to help him adapt to the new environment. For example, Marcus Rashford, with whom he was teammates at Villa. Rashford's return to the club he grew up at was somewhat unexpected. Earlier, due to a conflict with former manager Ruben Amorim, he was widely expected to leave the Red Devils for good.

"He has been outstanding," Tielemans backed Rashford. "There has been so much talk about him, which put pressure on him, and the British media have been relentless, but his performances have been truly excellent. He is very humble and hardworking. From the very first training session, you could see his ball control and acceleration were simply incredible — exactly what we needed at the time. He has produced many great performances, and I hope he can bring that here too."

But the person who has had a greater influence on Tielemans is Carrick's assistant coach Jonny Evans, with whom he played at Leicester City. The two remain close, and Evans was one of the key figures in persuading Tielemans to join. Also at Leicester, Tielemans had a brief partnership with Harry Maguire.

One concern some fans have about Tielemans is his injury record. Although Tielemans is currently 29 years old, in the prime of his career, the length of his career and the number of matches he has played have led some to worry that he might be worn out.

Tielemans made his professional debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16. To date, he has made 668 appearances for club and country. In last month's World Cup knockout stage, he experienced a physical issue during warm-up and had to miss Belgium's quarter-final match against Spain.

"Actually, I feel fine," Tielemans insisted. "In the last game, there were too many matches and too much playing time. Unfortunately, my body couldn't take it anymore. We had played 120 minutes against Senegal, then faced the USA a few days later, and then had to play Spain three days after that. During the warm-up, my body suddenly gave out for some reason."

Tielemans added: "I don't consider myself a player who needs rest. Obviously, there are many games now, and the coach has to manage the squad, but as long as I'm in good condition, I can keep performing well. If there's a problem, I'll notice it immediately and inform the manager. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often."

Many believe that Tielemans' arrival could solve the long-standing problem Manchester United have faced since Michael Carrick retired in 2018: the lack of a midfielder who is good at orchestrating tactics, has excellent passing ability, and can break through defensive lines. Theoretically, this would free up Bruno Fernandes to create more space in the final third, allowing United to better control the game and play positional attacks.

Tielemans revealed that he had a brief conversation with Carrick before completing the transfer. However, over the past ten days, he has noticed that Carrick is different from the coaches he has been used to in the past.

"He wants me to play freely on the pitch, to organize the team as best I can," Tielemans said. "He has his own tactical system, wants to control possession, and apply pressure in a specific way. That might be different from what I'm used to, but I think it's logical. It's just a feeling about football — I've been doing it since my time at Anderlecht. For me, nothing has changed; it's just about making everything click."