\t\t\t2<\/i><\/p>\n
Manchester United are confident in their deal for Youri Tielemans as the 29-year-old midfielder shares a key similarity with last summer\u2019s signings, according to ESPN<\/em>.<\/p>\n Towards the end of last season, chief executive Omar Berrada stressed that the Red Devils needed to be \u201cflexible\u201d to achieve their goals this summer, particularly given the number of rivals also shopping in the same markets.<\/p>\n Having missed out on their two primary targets in midfield \u2013 Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, who joined Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively \u2013 last month, this approach has been tested in full. However, the club, led by Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox, have held true to their word.<\/p>\n While the previous leadership structure at Old Trafford may have panicked in the face of two major setbacks, INEOS worked quickly and quietly to strike two deals: first, for Chelsea dynamo Andrey Santos; and second, for Tielemans. During negotiations for West Ham United starlet Mateus Fernandes, whom the club pivoted towards after being priced out of the race for Anderson, it was unclear whether the 21-year-old Portugal international \u201cwas fully committed to the move.\u201d<\/p>\n When Tottenham Hotspur stormed into the race, signalling an intention to meet West Ham\u2019s \u00a385 million asking price, United ruled against matching the bid. This was driven as much by Fernandes\u2019 apathy as it was by the Hammers\u2019 excessive valuation.<\/p>\n It stands in direct contrast to last summer, when both Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha rebuffed interest from United\u2019s rivals, including Tottenham Hotspur, because they dreamed of wearing the hallowed red shirt in the aptly named Theatre in M16.<\/p>\n ESPN<\/em> reveals well-placed sources believe this was a \u201ckey reason\u201d why the pair were \u201cable to fit in so quickly\u201d. There are staff at the club who maintain Jadon Sancho\u2019s struggles stemmed from the fact, in part, he was \u201cnever fully sure about swapping Borussia Dortmund for United in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n It took virtually every fan and journalist alike by surprise when Manchester United triggered a previously unknown release clause in Tielemans\u2019 contract at Villa Park, worth \u00a335 million.<\/p>\n Aston Villa were desperate to keep hold of their talismanic midfielder, with a willingness to offer him improved terms to stave off United. He was also the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, a league where he would have earned a fortune.<\/p>\n But the Belgium international only had eyes for Old Trafford \u2013 a desire he made \u201cvery clear\u201d in negotiations with United. He is said to consider playing for the Red Devils a childhood dream.<\/p>\n ESPN<\/em> claims Berrada is \u201cknown to like deals for players who have release clauses because it eliminates what is known as\u2026\u2019the United tax.’\u201d In comparison to the prices bandied around for other Premier League midfielders this summer, \u00a335 million is a bargain.<\/p>\n It is understood that Santos expressed similar feelings during talks with the recruitment team. United made overtures to sign the 22-year-old Brazilian last summer while negotiating Alejandro Garnacho\u2019s switch to Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n At that stage, Chelsea were adamant he was not for sale. However, United maintained contact with the player\u2019s representatives and, having received word the Blues had reversed their position, moved quickly to strike a \u00a350 million deal, another considered good value internally when compared to similarly talented targets.<\/p>\n Far too often in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise, Manchester United fans have been subject to players arriving at Old Trafford who were as interested in their pay cheques as they were in representing the club. It is a smart approach to prioritise signings who consider the Theatre of Dreams the pinnacle of their career in the same way every single member of the Stretford End would if blessed with the same opportunity. <\/p>\n Featured image Molly Darlington via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n The Peoples Person has been one of the world\u2019s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2 Manchester United are confident in their deal for Youri Tielemans as the 29-year-old midfielder…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Theatre of Dreams<\/h5>\n
Surprise Swoop<\/h5>\n
Final Thoughts<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thepeoplesperson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/affiliate-christmas-campaign-25-1500x300-en-uk-min.png\")
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