According to The Sun, Tielemans revealed that Manchester United had tried to sign him twice. Tielemans, 29, joined Manchester United from Aston Villa for £35 million last month after his release clause was triggered.
The Belgian international has spent seven and a half years in the Premier League, playing for Aston Villa and Leicester City, and scoring in both the UEFA Europa League and FA Cup final triumphs. Manchester United had pursued Tielemans under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag, but the midfielder finally joined this summer after being given a third opportunity.
Tielemans said: "I spoke to the club twice, but nothing came of it, so I remained calm. It didn't happen immediately after Anderlecht, but much later. I didn't speak to Solskjaer, no."
Tielemans confirmed that there had been no other serious bids for him after Manchester United's £35 million pursuit of Atalanta midfielder Ederson fell through. The former Leicester City linchpin had not expected to leave Villa, having just helped them qualify for the Champions League and win the UEFA Europa League.
Tielemans added: "Mainly my agent was handling it. I was more focused on the World Cup, which was a big deal for me. So I left everything to him. I only found out about the situation when the time was right and the terms were acceptable. I was very calm about it. The transfer opportunity came, and if it had to happen, it would happen."
"I've been linked with this club a few times before, but it didn't work out, but that's just how things are. I just keep working hard and doing my best on the pitch, and then everything will happen naturally."
Tielemans has previously spoken with Manchester United assistant coach Michael Carrick and also knew Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire during his four and a half years at Leicester City. Maguire signed a new contract with Manchester United in April, while Evans joined the coaching staff in January after retiring last year.
Tielemans admitted: "Before signing, you always want to know what the manager thinks of you. I think it's very important to have a good relationship with the manager. But unless the club agrees first, you can't really speak to him directly. So I only had a brief chat before, and it felt right, with more conversations happening later."
"He (Carrick) wants me to be more free on the pitch and try to organize the team. Obviously, he has his principles, and I will just try to do what he asks, and then add my own characteristics. I think for any player, finally coming here is a great achievement. It shows that your career is going well, first that the club has been watching you, and then you finally come here."
"But it's not over yet. You know, I just want to succeed, but it's a process. After all, I've only been here for about 10 days, and I want to win."
Tielemans also hopes to reunite with Rashford, who was his teammate during the latter's four-month loan spell at Villa last season.
Tielemans praised him: "He's excellent. There's a lot of talk about him, a lot of pressure and media attention. But I think he's really fantastic. He's very humble and works very hard. From the first training session, you could see how amazing his touch and acceleration were. That's exactly what Villa needed at the time, so he did a lot of good things during that period, and I hope he can bring those here too."
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namelmuy
7
everybody should get ready for Tielemans next season.