Ex-Premier League Golden Boot winner fingers key signing that will help Man United compete for EPL title

Leicester City icon Jamie Vardy has offered a glowing endorsement of Youri Tielemans following the midfielder's summer move to Manchester United, backing his former teammate to be a transformative figure for the Red Devils this season.

The 29-year-old Belgium international recently completed a switch to Old Trafford after Manchester United activated a £35 million release clause in his Aston Villa contract.

Handed a five-year deal that runs until the summer of 2031, Tielemans is expected to become the central anchor in manager Michael Carrick's midfield setup.

Speaking candidly on a podcast, the striker recounted his earliest memories of the Belgian playmaker and expressed unwavering confidence in his ability to excel on one of football's biggest stages.

"I just think he’ll start kicking on again if I’m honest," Vardy told listeners when discussing the £35 million transfer [3].

Vardy first crossed paths with Tielemans on the international stage before they shared a club dressing room. "I played against him with Belgium, he was unbelievable and you were like, 'Wow, who is this?', because he was only young at the time," Vardy recalled.

The striker then detailed the impression Tielemans made when he initially arrived in the Premier League. "It then came through that we [Leicester] had signed him on loan at first and I remember going around all the lads and saying, 'We’ve signed a player here!', and I mean a really good player."

Vardy's praise is backed by a four-and-a-half-year partnership at the King Power Stadium. Tielemans originally joined Leicester City on loan fromMonaco in January 2019 before making the move permanent later that summer. 

The duo famously won the 2020/21 FA Cup at Leicester. Tielemans etched his name into Foxes folklore during that historic final, scoring a stunning long-range winner against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.

Since leaving Leicester in the summer of 2023, the Belgian has continued to build his resume. During his recent three-year stint with Aston Villa (2023–2026), Tielemans was instrumental in securing a top-four Premier League finish and lifting the UEFA Europa League trophy under Unai Emery

Now arriving at the Theatre of Dreams, Tielemans steps into a Manchester United side eager to re-establish domestic dominance.