Sport
Transfers: Manchester United reportedly secure deal for player they nearly signed YEARS ago
The news come right after missing out on one of their 'nailed-on' targets.
Danny Jones -
13th July 2026 
There appears to be another turn in the tale of Manchester United’s summer transfer window saga, as it’s claimed that the club are soon set to sign a player they’ve long been linked with and that they nearly bought years ago: Youri Tielemans.
Yes, more than seven years after he was first linked with a Man United move, Tielemans now looks like he could finally be making his way to Old Trafford, with several sources stating that the deal is all but done.
The Belgian midfielder, now 29 years old, has only just exited the World Cup following their defeat to semi-finalists and reigning European champions Spain, having scored twice before having to miss their last game after picking up an injury in the warm-up.
But now it seems as though he’ll be linking up with another team of Red Devils when he returns to club football next month.
WHATTTTTTTTT THE FUCKKKK????
— ☈ッ (@TheFergusonWay) July 13, 2026
WHERE HAS THIS COME FROMMM???
Said to be a hamstring problem, United fans will obviously hope it’s nothing severe, as the versatile box-to-box player isn’t a stranger to the physio bench, leading some supporters to question the still yet to be announced transfer.
The most serious setback of his professional career came this past season, when he was out for a total of 112 days of football – missing a total of 23 games across club and country – but prior to that, he’d never been out for more than a dozen matches.
Nevertheless, plenty of people have labelled the prospective deal ‘a bargain’, with former Leicester City star and current Aston Villa squad member thought to be making his way to the red half of Manchester for around £35 million.
Perhaps the most prevailing reaction seems to be that MUFC should have done this deal “years ago”, with several posts on social media joking that this feels like the 2019 summer window, dubbing it everything from “random” and “out of nowhere”, to “shrewd” and “a steal” at the reported price.
Many others are worrying whether they’re getting a player who’s potentially leaving the peak of his career, but it’s no secret that the club want multiple reinforcements in the middle of the park for 26/27, with Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos having now been teased by the club.
While Santos is now over the line, it’s worth noting that nothing official has been shared by United regarding Tielemans, and that’s a key thing to note given the recent U-turn made regarding recruitment.
INEOS were all but nailed on to sign another Brazilian midfielder in Atalanta’s Ederson, who also received a late call-up to the Brazil squad for this World Cup, but it was revealed earlier this month that the transfer has now been cancelled.
This comes after medical tests revealed new information regarding a knee issue in the previous campaign, which looks to have taken the deal off the table.
All that being said, the board are still expected to bring in another midfielder if possible, with a return to the Champions League and a new term with two cups meaning lots more games to play and more strength in depth required. Fears over perceived panic buying and back-up options still remain, though.
On the other hand, you could very well see another academy graduate brought through should transfer spending be limited; after all, they’ve got that big, shiny new stadium to pay for…
Read more:
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- Transfers – Man United reportedly in the race for Rafael Leao as asking price is revealed
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Featured Images — Bryan Berlin/Олександр Осіпов (via Wikimedia Commons)
