Youri Tielemans is set to join Manchester United with the midfield signing seemingly getting special treatment as he closes in on a move from Aston Villa
The signing of Youri Tielemans will see Manchester United break a two-year transfer rule(Image: (Photo by Nico Vereecken / Photo News via Getty Images))
Manchester United are going against their own transfer rule by signing 29-year-old Youri Tielemans. Since Ineos acquired a minority stake in the club, United have not brought in a player over the age of 26 but that looks set to end as a £35m deal for the Aston Villa star advances.
Following the decision to pull out of the Ederson transfer due to concerns over a knee injury sustained last season, United moved quickly for the Belgium captain and have since arranged a medical.
Injury problems for Tielemans have been prominent for the last few seasons, with his World Cup also ending prematurely because of a hamstring injury, but there is optimism that another deal will not collapse due to issues that arise in medical tests.
Had United signed 27-year-old Ederson from Atalanta, he would have been the oldest signing of the last two years with Sir Jim Ratcliffe having a strict transfer rule, as of May 2024, that United would only sign players under 25, as per The Sun.
Despite opting against bringing in Ederson, at least for now, United will seemingly break their own transfer rule twice with Karl Darlow also set to join as a free agent. That deal for the 35-year-old was agreed in the wake of Andre Onana heading back to Trabzonspor on loan.
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Following the departure of Casemiro and injury sustained by Manuel Ugarte, a third midfield signing looks set to arrive at Old Trafford ahead of their return to the Champions League.
Numerous names have been linked but it now seems as though it could be between Alex Scott of Bournemouth and AS Roma’s Manu Kone. The latter has been impressing for France at the World Cup in the absence of Aurelien Tchouameni.
The Real Madrid star had been linked with a move to United but he now looks set to sign a new contract in the Spanish capital.
Scott would be the addition that fits United’s transfer strategy but they appear to have loosened their stance on the need to only sign players of a certain age.
Further forward, the future of Marcus Rashford appears to be clearing up especially after Barcelona agreed a deal for Karim Adeyemi to join from Borussia Dortmund in addition to the signing of Anthony Gordon.
A permanent move elsewhere for the 28-year-old remains an option but being re-integrated into Michael Carrick’s squad and being part of pre-season is also a potential outcome.
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