Tielemans meets Carrick: Belgium's Lampard starts for Manchester United! Could push the new star to improve

Manchester United's new signing, Youri Tielemans, has met with manager Carrick. The two competed against each other as captains in the Europa League ten years ago.

Discussing his collaboration with Carrick, Tielemans remarked: "I'm really delighted and excited. Obviously, as a midfielder, he can give me a lot of advice and let me learn from his style of play. When I faced him? Well, I saw that photo yesterday. It was quite funny when we talked and saw it together. Those were great times, and I hope for even better ones now."

When Sir Alex Ferguson needed to challenge Mourinho's formidable Chelsea and Wenger's artistic Arsenal in 2006, he brought in a midfielder from the Premier League—current manager Carrick! Before that, United's holding midfielder Roy Keane also came from a Premier League rival, Nottingham Forest. Their partner was academy graduate Paul Scholes.

Now, Carrick's United has signed Aston Villa's 29-year-old Belgian captain, Youri Tielemans, with some fans hoping he will partner with young academy midfielder Kobbie Mainoo. But can they play together?

After Carrick took over, Mainoo partnered Brazilian international Casemiro in midfield during the second half of last season. Although "Fat Tiger" won fans over with goals, his role at Real Madrid's "Ceremonial Midfield" was that of a defensive midfielder.

Casemiro excels at proactive defending. Data shows that among Premier League midfielders with over 900 minutes last season, Casemiro attempted 13 tackles per 1,000 opponent touches, ranking first in the league. Moreover, after winning the ball, he remains calm and distributes it smoothly to teammates ahead.

In England, this role is called the "anchor midfielder"—acting as the team's anchor, a defensive shield, and the starting point of attacks. The 29-year-old Tielemans is one of the Premier League's best in this area, very similar to Casemiro.

Last season, Tielemans made 10.5 tackle attempts per 1,000 opponent touches, ranking sixth among Premier League midfielders. He relies on reading the game and experience for defense, given his physique is not particularly strong—standing just 1.76m and weighing 72kg.

Casemiro in his prime could naturally defend with his body—the nickname "Fat Tiger" wasn't baseless. But at 34 last season, his athleticism declined, forcing him to sacrifice some defense and contribute through goals instead.

Thus, Tielemans can replace the role Casemiro played in transitions last season. However, he is unlikely to score headers from set pieces like the Brazilian star or fully stabilize the midfield defense. The Casemiro-Mainoo partnership last season wasn't top-tier defensively, and the same would apply with Tielemans.

Under Emery's demands, Tielemans improved his awareness when his team lost possession. Last season, his average duel success rate reached its highest in eight Premier League seasons, and his tackle count doubled compared to his early days at Leicester City.

"I'm more complete now," Tielemans assessed. "Especially in defense, the manager asks me to give my all and be tougher in duels. Plus, I do tactical analysis, trying to find better spaces to break through the opponent's lines."

In Aston Villa's midfield system, Tielemans always had a defensive midfielder beside him—Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana, or even Victor Lindelöf, a Swedish center-back familiar to United fans, all played that role.

Tielemans' main contribution remains his ball retention and passing when transitioning to attack. Among all Premier League midfielders and attackers last season, Tielemans delivered 18.3 penetrating passes per 100 passes, ranking first in the league.

Second place went to another former United target, Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton (17.7). Both significantly outranked United's Bruno Fernandes (16.6) and Casemiro (16.3).

B费的出场数据出现在这里，主要是因为他在鲁本·阿莫林执教期间后撤打343的中场中路位置，而卡里克到来后，葡萄牙国脚已经回到10号位，他在进攻三区的直塞更有威胁。

Looking at the past two seasons, among players who made the most passes bypassing four or more opponents in a single move, Bruno Fernandes, Elliot Anderson, and Tielemans topped the list.

"Every pass carries information," Tielemans explained to Sky Sports. He sometimes deliberately passes to a teammate's specific foot to guide their movement, thereby triggering runs from other players.

In an ideal scenario, Tielemans could feed the ball to Bruno Fernandes, letting him create in the final third, much like he did with Morgan Rogers at Villa. Data shows Tielemans found Rogers 40 times last season with breakthrough passes—14 more than any other teammate.

Alternatively, Tielemans can also use long balls to directly connect with United's striker Benjamin Šeško, just as he did with England international Ollie Watkins at Villa.

In long-distance passing, Tielemans clearly outperforms Mainoo, who relies more on calm dribbling to advance the ball and still needs to improve his passing—perhaps he can learn from the much older Tielemans.

Tielemans acknowledged the need to balance safety and risk in passing. "Sometimes you lose the ball, but the key is the next action and how to help the team move forward," he explained. "You don't have to force silly passes—I've done that before and will again—but you must find the right balance between forward, lateral, and backward passes. Sometimes a sideways or backward pass can draw opponents forward, creating space. It's all about timing; I try to look forward as much as possible."

The 21-year-old Mainoo has signed a new contract with a raise and is clearly United's future core. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't need to improve and learn. Next season, United won't just play in the Premier League; with a return to the Champions League, Carrick will need to rotate the squad more frequently. He was criticized at Middlesbrough for relying on a single lineup. Bringing in Tielemans could also signal a change for the 44-year-old coach.

If Tielemans partners Mainoo, United's midfield will definitely lack interceptions and physicality, especially in aerial duels. If Tielemans, Mainoo, and new signing André Santos play together, that could solve the issue. However, that would require Carrick to change from a 4-2-3-1 formation, and in a 4-3-3, at least one of Bruno Fernandes, Cunha, Mbeumo, or Šeško would have to be sacrificed.

Of course, Tielemans' recent injury and appearance data might indicate that even as a starter, he needs proper rotation. He suffered severe ankle and calf injuries last season, missing 21 games. Earlier, calf and groin issues also troubled the Belgian. At the World Cup, he missed the quarterfinal loss to Spain due to a warm-up injury.

Some United fans might be slightly disappointed that the club could have signed Tielemans for free three years ago but didn't. However, today's Tielemans is a more polished player. Despite injuries, his appearance record remains reliable—he has played at least 35 matches in each of the last 13 seasons.

So, despite one or two potential concerns, United's signing of Tielemans is already a low-risk, high-value deal for the summer window. The complaints from Aston Villa fans show that this transfer is a clear win for the Red Devils.

Tielemans is a player who has proven himself in the Premier League and European football, with 244 Premier League appearances and goals in major finals like the FA Cup, Europa League, and World Cup knockout stages. He has a strong chance of quickly integrating into Carrick's team—plug-and-play. However, United's midfield rebuild still needs to continue.