Manchester United’s move for Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has been described as “underwhelming” by legendary club centre-back Gary Pallister.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein broke the news this morning that United are in “advanced talks” with Aston Villa to sign the Belgian, and this was followed shortly afterwards by a trademark “Here we go!” from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Tielemans is a name that has emerged unexpectedly as United try to rebuild a decimated midfield this season, following the departure of Casemiro and the ACL injury sustained by Manuel Ugarte during the World Cup. In an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person hosted by NetBet Sport, Pallister said it was not the kind of signing he had expected.
“I think we’ve all felt a bit underwhelmed,” he said. “We’re talking about targets like [Elliot] Anderson and [Sandro] Tonali at the end of the season, and we were all licking our lips at them.”
“Especially Tonali – he’s, he’s got the Manchester United stamp all over him. Anderson, we’ve seen what he’s doing at the World Cup at the moment. He’s been that ball-winning, hungry midfielder that we maybe needed as well. They’ve slipped through the net.”