The initial reaction in United circles to news of Tielemans’ impending arrival was positive.
A former team-mate of current first-team coach Jonny Evans, Tielemans is noted for scoring Leicester’s winner in the 2021 FA Cup final and for Aston Villa in their Europa League final triumph over Freiburg in May.
“Well done to the recruitment team because £35m for him is a phenomenal signing,” said former midfielder Nicky Butt as he discussed the Belgian’s potential impact with Scholes.
“They needed to get a rocket on. If we want to compete in all four competitions we have to build a squad, not just a starting 11.”
An erroneous post on X, in which a user claimed Tielemans had already played more minutes of football at the age of 29 than Scholes did in his playing career, grabbed plenty of attention on social media, but while it was incorrect, it did highlight the amount of football the Villa midfielder has played.
He made his senior debut for Anderlecht aged 16 years and 82 days and has now played 668 games for club and country.
That is over 100 more than Casemiro had done when he moved from Real Madrid to United in 2022.
Casemiro was 30 at the time and after an excellent debut campaign, then spent 18 months being told his career was finished as his performances dipped.
Observers defending United’s recruitment team would argue Tielemans is more accustomed to the physical demands of the Premier League given he has played in England since joining Leicester from Monaco in 2019.
Last season he was impacted by separate calf and ankle problems that restricted him to 35 appearances in all competitions for Aston Villa, the lowest number during his time in England.
After impressing at the World Cup, including scoring a memorable 89th-minute equaliser against Senegal, then converting an extra-time winner from the penalty spot, his tournament came to a premature end when he was injured in the warm-up before the quarter-final defeat by Spain.
