Manchester United are in talks with Aston Villa in a bid to sign Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans, the Press Association understands.
Tielemans, who captained his country at the World Cup, still has two years to run on his Villa contract, but United are hoping to lure him to Old Trafford.
It is understood United’s bid to sign midfielder Ederson from Atalanta has stalled following his late call into Brazil’s World Cup squad.
A £39m fee and personal terms had been agreed for Ederson, but United have switched focus, for now, on to Tielemans.
The 29-year-old joined Villa on a free transfer from Leicester in 2023 and has played a key role for Unai Emery’s side, who qualified for the Champions League last season and won the Europa League.
Tielemans also helped lead Belgium to the World Cup quarter-finals, but he missed Friday’s 2-1 defeat to Spain after sustaining an injury in the warm-up, later reported to be a hamstring strain.
United have prioritised midfield strengthening following the departure of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte’s knee ligament injury sustained in Uruguay’s group-stage defeat to Spain at the World Cup.
They agreed a £50m deal with Chelsea last week for their Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos.
It would be a major blow for Villa should Tielemans want to push through a move to Old Trafford.
He has made over 130 appearances in all competitions for the West Midlands club, including 35 last season in which he scored two goals and made seven assists.
PA
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