It came as a surprise to just about everybody involved in football when Manchester United activated Youri Tielemans’ release clause yesterday. Despite the club being on the lookout for additions in central midfield, the Belgium international had not been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
There is no doubting the quality of Tielemans and the agreed fee of £35 million is more than fair, but there is a slight sense of frustration that this is a deal that, had the club been braver, could have been so much better for United. If the midfield playmaker hits the ground running, all of this will likely be forgotten, but it is important that the club learns from its past mistakes with this transfer.
After all, United could have signed Tielemans on a free transfer when he left Leicester following their relegation in 2023.
A missed opportunity
Tielemans has been continuously impressive ever since he arrived at Leicester on an initial loan from Monaco. After a string of impressive performances, Leicester made the deal permanent and he repaid the favour by scoring the only goal in the 2021 FA Cup final.
The tenacious midfielder was unfortunately unable to save his side from the drop in 2023 and soon after announced that he would be leaving the club on a free transfer. Despite the fact that United had been scouting Tielemans since 2016, the club passed on the chance to sign him and instead purchased Mason Mount for £55 million.
This is not the first opportunity to sign a promising player for a cut-price fee that United have missed. In fact, it has happened a lot over the last decade and it is something INEOS needs to address as the club builds towards challenging for the Premier League title once again.
Baleba
United first scouted Carlos Baleba back when he was a largely unknown talent playing for Lille. Despite being impressed by what they saw and the player being available for around £30 million, the club opted against doing a deal.
However, once Baleba had moved to Brighton and proven that he was the perfect fit for the pacey and physical Premier League, United made him a top target last summer. It is hard for the fans to understand why, having had the chance to sign him for an affordable fee just a few years earlier, the Red Devils waited until a £100 million price tag had been slapped on the player before declaring their interest.
Is it that the club do not believe they can develop players the way smaller clubs like Brighton and Bournemouth can? Is it the fact that United managers across the last decade have been resistant to hand out opportunities to younger players? Perhaps it is both. And, had the club not been so reluctant to embed younger players within the team, Jude Bellingham would likely have opted for Old Trafford instead of the Signal Iduna Park.
Proven talent
Prior to INEOS taking control of sporting operations at United, the club largely only recruited proven, supposedly world-class players. The likes of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Casemiro all arrived at the club for inflated fees and attracted huge fanfare.
However, for one reason or another, none of these signings lived up to expectations and all have since left the club as free agents, meaning United have not recouped one penny of the extortionate transfer fees they paid. This reinforces the fact that the previous business model was unsustainable and, frankly, needed to change.
Promising signs
There have been the occasional glimmers of promise over the last ten years. Dan James was signed as a relatively unknown winger from Swansea for a fee of just £15 million. This is the sort of signing the club should be looking to emulate as, despite not quite being of the level required for the club, he was young enough that other clubs saw him as a valuable asset and Leeds United eventually signed him for £25 million.
Last summer’s transfer window gave fans hope too, as the club targeted Premier League-proven players with good age profiles, meaning that, should they look to move on in the next few years, a return on investment is all but guaranteed for the Red Devils.
New arrival Andrey Santos also fits this bill somewhat. Granted, he is not fully proven in the Premier League yet but he is only 22 years old and he gives United the chance to prove they are capable of developing players into world-class stars.
Only time will tell if the Red Devils will look to move on from their risk-averse transfer strategy and take more chances on talented youngsters, but if they do, it is a move that is sure to excite the fans.
Featured image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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