Manchester United’s £35m Tielemans Deal Described as a Steal
Manchester United have made plenty of expensive mistakes in midfield over the last decade. This time, according to two men who know the position inside out, they might just have pulled off the bargain of the summer.
John Obi Mikel, a Champions League winner with Chelsea and a veteran of English football’s most unforgiving midfields, can’t quite believe the number attached to Youri Tielemans’ move.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, he didn’t bother dressing it up.
“For me, it’s Youri Tielemans. Honestly, how the f*ck did Manchester United get him for £35m? That’s a f*cking steal,” Mikel said. “I watched him before and during the World Cup, and you can see that this is a player.”
That last word carried weight. Not just a technician. Not just a highlight-reel shooter from distance. A player — one who changes how a team can function.
A Midfield Chameleon
Mikel zeroed in on Tielemans’ versatility, the kind that allows a manager to redraw a game plan without changing personnel.
“Obviously, we all know how Tielemans plays, he can play as a six, an eight or a ten and when you have a player that can play anywhere, it gives you the variety to change the way you want to play. Tielemans is that guy,” he said.
This is what United have lacked too often: a midfielder who can anchor, link and create, rather than specialising in just one of those roles. Tielemans offers all three.
“He scores goals, he’s dangerous from set pieces, he’s brilliant on the ball, and he rarely gives it away,” Mikel added.
The only caveat, and it’s one that has followed the Belgian throughout his career, is his lack of raw pace.
“The only thing people can say is that he’s not the quickest, but he reads the game so well. He is very intelligent with and without the ball. When I look at all the midfielders that have transferred to different clubs [this summer], the best one is Tielemans.”
For a player arriving into the glare of Old Trafford, that is not faint praise. It’s a verdict.
Beyond the Numbers
Toby Alderweireld, another seasoned Belgian international and a former Tottenham defender, sees Tielemans through a different lens — one that cuts through the modern obsession with data.
In an interview with Hajper, he argued that the numbers don’t tell the full story.
“The problem with modern football is that sometimes we look too much at stats like assists and goals,” Alderweireld said. “Of course, Youri Tielemans creates assists and scores goals, and can shoot from outside the box and score free kicks, but he is so much more than that.”
The word he kept coming back to was “link”.
“Tielemans is a link up player, and you have to watch him to understand why he is so important to his teams, not just look at his stats, because he is always trying to play the ball forward.”
That last detail matters for a club like United, often accused of sterile possession and sideways passing when faced with deep, stubborn defences.
“You have some midfield players who have a pass success rate of 98% but they are always playing the ball backwards,” Alderweireld said. “Tielemans is a guy who turns, opens up and plays the ball between the lines, and that’s very important for a club like Manchester United who need to break other teams down.”
This is the risk United have been crying out for in the middle of the pitch: someone who sees a tight space and still dares to thread the ball through it.
Built for the Weight of the Shirt
The technical qualities are clear. What really intrigues those who know him is how Tielemans will handle the expectation that comes with that red shirt.
Alderweireld has no doubts about the midfielder’s mentality under pressure.
“Even when he’s playing in a deep role, he’s playing it in an attacking way. He’s thinking about going forwards, always,” he said. “Sometimes he will lose the ball but that’s what happens when you take some risks in games to make things happen, and I think that’s something United need, and he has the mentality to be brave and positive under the big pressure of the shirt.”
This is where the £35m fee starts to look even more striking. United aren’t just buying a passer. They’re buying a personality.
“He will put in ultra big effort and say to his team-mates, give me the ball and let me change the game for you,” Alderweireld added. “He will take the responsibility to take Manchester United forward.”
That is the challenge now. Tielemans arrives hailed as the smartest midfield buy of the window, a “steal” in a market that rarely forgives hesitation or misjudgment.
If he plays with the courage Mikel and Alderweireld describe, the question won’t be how United got him for £35m — it will be how so many others let him go there at that price.
