Why INEOS would “love” to sign another Youri Tielemans at Man Utd

Will there be a better midfield signing this summer than that of Manchester United‘s £35m capture of Youri Tielemans?

In a window that has already seen Elliot Anderson move to Manchester City on a £116m deal, while Mateus Fernandes has joined Tottenham Hotspur for £85m, it’s difficult not to view Tielemans’ arrival as anything other than a steal.

This is a player of vast experience and undoubted quality, the 29-year-old Belgium skipper having already racked up 90 appearances for his country, alongside a further 579 games at club level.

Perhaps that’s too many miles on the clock for some, but in an era dominated by talk of ‘potential’, of long-term signings and of resale value, this is a player who can make an immediate impact in the here and now.

How Tielemans compares to former Man Utd midfielders

Tielemans has inherited Casemiro’s number 18 shirt at Old Trafford, although he certainly won’t be the direct replacement for the Brazilian, more likely to replicate the ball-playing quality of United midfielders gone by.

The most obvious, recent comparison would be to the signing of a 30-year-old Christian Eriksen in 2022, the Dane arriving on a free transfer from Brentford, just a year on from suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

There were undoubted concerns over Eriksen’s mobility and athleticism, yet his intelligence and footballing brain were not in question, mirroring Tielemans as someone who can dictate proceedings in a deep-lying role.

The Belgian’s style could also then be likened to another great of the past in the form of Paul Scholes, not least due to his knack for the spectacular, memorably sealing Leicester City’s first-ever FA Cup triumph with a thumping finish against Chelsea in 2021, while more recently kicking things off in Aston Villa’s Europa League final win with a delightful volley against Freiburg.

Perhaps even more so too, there are shades of Michael Carrick to his game right now, someone who looks to make those forward passes at every available opportunity, turning defence into attack in an instant.

Indeed, in 2024/25, for instance, he ranked in the top 4% of midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues for big chances created in open play, as well as in the top 5% for through ball passes per 90.

Equally too, he also ranked within the top 11% for both progressive passes and passes into the final third per 90.

Such a figure could well thrive at the base of United’s midfield next season, although there does still appear to be room for one more in that department.

Who Man Utd’s third midfield signing could be

With Tielemans and Andrey Santos in the building, the search continues for that third midfield signing, with United seemingly working through a raft of names at present.

The INEOS hierarchy have already missed out on the aforementioned Anderson and Fernandes, while Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni has penned a new deal at the Bernabeu.

As noted by TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey, the Frenchman had been the ‘dream target’ for INEOS, although the Old Trafford side do have other irons in the fire, namely Bournemouth’s Alex Scott.

Scott, who is likely to fetch north of £80m, certainly won’t prove a straightforward deal, but the 22-year-old might well prove the perfect final piece of the puzzle as far as Carrick is concerned.

The ‘Guernsey Grealish’ could well help to provide greater control to United’s midfield unit, as Carrick seeks to move away from the transitional style that was so effective last term.

Like Tielemans, Scott is just an elegant footballer to watch, someone who can dictate proceedings effortlessly from his deep-lying number eight role.

There’s a natural, almost uncoachable quality to his game that certainly mirrors the Belgian, with Scott memorably running the show when the Cherries drew 2-2 with United earlier this year.

Across 2025/26 in general, the former Bristol City man scored and assisted four goals, created four ‘big chances’ and enjoyed an 85% pass accuracy, all while averaging a solid 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game.

For comparison, that record isn’t too dissimilar to Tielemans’ own return at Villa Park, the £35m man contributing to four goals himself, while creating five ‘big chances’ and averaging an 85% pass accuracy rate.

Like Scott too, the new United man is also a combative presence in the centre of the park, having averaged three tackles and interceptions per game.

Where Scott also mirrors his Premier League counterpart is in his desire to always play forward, albeit while more so as a ball carrier than a passer, even despite ranking in the top 19% for through ball passes in 2025/26.

Indeed, the youngster ranks in the top 7% for deep carries per 90, as well as in the top 15% for progressive carries, seemingly a master at gliding up the pitch.

Of course, supporters may wish to see a more direct successor to Casemiro arrive, yet United have so often been burned by favouring physicality over technical quality in recent years, be it with the signings of Manuel Ugarte or Sofyan Amrabat.

Bringing in players who can actually control a game, like Scott and Tielemans, could help end the basketball-like feel to the team’s displays, with exciting times potentially set to lie ahead under this new Carrick regime.