Manchester United told the two things ‘special’ Youri Tielemans will bring

Man Utd’s new signing Youri Tielemans made his pre-season debut against Paris Saint-Germain last weekend.

Youri Tielemans’ former coach has praised the midfielder for his “special” ability to execute passes that most players lack the vision to make, as well as his shooting.

Tielemans was handed his Manchester United pre-season debut in a friendly against Paris-Saint-Germain last weekend, coming on from the bench in the second half following an injury to Mason Mount.

The Belgian combined well with Bruno Fernandes and completed a handful of long-range passes to find his teammates. United signed Tielemans for £35million from Aston Villa to strengthen their midfield options.

When Tielemans’ transfer was announced, United’s director of football Jason Wilcox said: “Youri has consistently been one of the most outstanding midfielders in the Premier League throughout the past seven years.”

Tielemans arrived at United having played for Villa and Leicester City in the top-flight, but he began his career in Anderlecht’s academy, where he rose to be considered as one of Europe’s finest midfield prospects.

Gunter Van Handenhoven, the player’s former coach at Anderlecht, recently spoke to the Manchester Evening News. Van Handenhoven discussed Tielemans’ qualities and explained that his passing is his biggest strength.

“From the start, you could see the way he handles the ball and his technique,” he said of the midfielder. “He was most famous for his passing game and shooting from outside the box with his left and right, which was crazy.

“His passing was always a strength because he’s one of the few midfielders who are always looking for a forward solution. He took a lot of risks in his game, but it really paid off from an early age.

“His special passing ability is a natural thing. You can teach players whatever you want, but teaching a player how to recognise spaces, moments, and scanning is so, so difficult. It was second nature for Youri.

“He could see the spaces, make switches of play to change sides, and had the ability to execute those passes. This is what makes him special.”

Tielemans has played in defensive midfield, central midfield and attacking midfield during his career. United were drawn to him because he is a talented all-rounder with bags of experience.

Van Handenhoven said: “I think over the years his game has evolved because he has a great passing game and he’s the link between build-up and attack, you know? His strength is having the game in front of him.

“I think this is why it’s a natural transition that he comes more in a position of number eight or number six, and what he developed across the years is his ability to recover balls and get from that position to an attacking position, in a transition moment.

“He’s not the guy who’s just asking the ball, no, no, he’s running a lot, covering a lot of distance, a lot of ground, and you see his game has changed.”