According to Sky Sports, Tielemans gave an interview. The new Manchester United signing this summer talked about his transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester United, and why the move was surprising. He also talked about his FIFA World Cup journey with the Belgian team.

When asked if he expected to leave his former club Aston Villa during this transfer window, Manchester United's new summer signing, Tielemans, gave a slightly surprising answer: "To be honest, no."

It's easy to overlook that Manchester United swiftly and quietly signed this player, who has 8 years of Premier League experience and is at the peak of his career, with a favorable buyout clause of only £35 million.

In his first interview after joining the club, Tielemans opened up about the ins and outs of the transfer. Manchester United had extended an olive branch to him several times in the past.

"I had two conversations with this club before, but neither made substantial progress, so I took it lightly," Tielemans said.

"The transfer-related matters were mainly handled by my agent, who was fully responsible for following up and processing them. During that time, I was almost entirely focused on preparing for the FIFA World Cup, which is an extremely important event for me personally. I didn't inquire much about the transfer developments. It wasn't until the transfer plan was officially approved by all parties and all procedures were settled that I received relevant news and learned about the progress of the whole matter."

"To be honest, I didn't have too many expectations for this summer's transfer at all. I put all my energy into football itself, fully devoted myself to the preparation and matches of the FIFA World Cup, giving my best, hoping to contribute the best possible performance for the national team. But that's how the football world is; every summer, unexpected changes can happen at any time."

Tielemans originally joined Villa as a free agent when Leicester City was relegated to the Championship, and he chose to leave. During his time at his previous two clubs, there were never any rumors that he was close to joining one of the traditional top six wealthy clubs, which is why his transfer to Manchester United came as such a surprise.

So, did he ever feel that he had missed the opportunity to join a top club? "No, because I know we achieved excellent results at Villa," Tielemans explained.

"We won the Europa League, which was very important for the club, but there are still teams with more strength than Villa, and Manchester United is one of them."

"Especially now, there's a very positive atmosphere within the club and externally. I sincerely hope that we can write a wonderful story together."

"Aston Villa is a great club, and I am full of gratitude towards them. They helped me get back to my best form, and for that, I am incredibly grateful."

Reunion with Evans and Rashford

Although Tielemans is still adapting to his new environment, there is one staff member with whom he has a deep connection, making him feel very comfortable, and that person is Jonny Evans.

The former center-back played alongside Tielemans at Leicester City for four and a half years, and is now a core member of Michael Carrick's coaching staff.

When asked how it feels to work with his old teammate again, Tielemans couldn't help but smile brightly. Jonny Evans played alongside Tielemans at Leicester City and is now a Manchester United coach.

"Evans has always been a key figure," Tielemans said. "He's always willing to guide young players. He took great care of me at Leicester City, and it's still the same now that I'm at Manchester United."

"To be honest, it feels a bit strange to see him as a club staff member now, but everything is going well. He knows me very well, understands my abilities, and knows what I can bring to the team, which helps me a lot."

Another teammate is Marcus Rashford, and they haven't spent a long time together. In the second half of the 2024-2025 season, they worked together for six months when the English player was on loan at Aston Villa.

After ending his loan spell in Barcelona earlier this summer, Marcus Rashford has fully returned to the Manchester United squad. There is great attention on the return of this Manchester United winger and the help he can bring to the team. Tielemans has fond memories of their time together at Villa Park and looks forward to playing alongside him again.

He said: "He is excellent. The media has a lot of reports around him, and it brings him a lot of pressure, but in my opinion, his ability is beyond doubt. He is humble and trains very hard. From the first joint training session, it was clear that his touch and acceleration abilities are outstanding."

"That's exactly what Villa needed at the time, and he made many brilliant performances. I hope he can continue this form here."

FIFA World Cup, Injuries, and Balogun Red Card Revocation

Tielemans captained Belgium in this summer's FIFA World Cup, where the team ultimately lost to champions Spain in the quarter-finals. Tielemans missed this quarter-final due to an injury during the pre-match warm-up. However, if Manchester United fans are worried about a recurrence of his old injury, he is completely ready for the new season.

Tielemans said: "The root of the problem was too many matches and too much playing time; my body eventually couldn't bear the load."

"We played 120 minutes against Senegal, and then the interval between matches was compressed. Three or four days later, we had to face the United States, and then three days after that, we had to play against Spain. It was during the pre-match warm-up that my body suddenly had a problem."

Before the injury, the midfielder played a key role in Belgium's FIFA World Cup journey, scoring two goals in the thrilling match against Senegal.

Despite the huge controversy surrounding the suspension of Florin Balogun's red card, Belgium still defeated the United States 4-1.

But the most dramatic event of the entire tournament was the match against the United States. One of the most controversial decisions of this FIFA World Cup was the suspension of American forward Florin Balogun's red card in this match, but this did not affect the outcome, as Belgium ultimately won 4-1.

"We were all surprised at first to learn that the red card and suspension were revoked," Tielemans said.

"This incident didn't really have any substantial impact on us, other than forcing us to adjust our original pre-match preparation plan, after all, a player with a completely different playing style from the originally planned player would be on the field. Aside from that, our entire team remained very calm, accepting the reality of the situation and focusing entirely on the game, giving our all to play well in this match."

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