Youri Tielemans Supports Marcus Rashford's Comeback at Manchester United

Youri Tielemans is relishing his reunion with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United – and he is convinced the forward can still reshape his story at Old Trafford if given a genuine chance.

Rashford has rejoined first-team training this week after 18 turbulent months away from his boyhood club, a spell that saw him frozen out by former United manager Ruben Amorim and sent on loan. His long-term future remains uncertain, but he is back on the grass at Carrington, back in United colours, and back alongside a midfielder who has already seen what he can do under pressure.

Barcelona declined the option to sign Rashford permanently for £26 million after last season’s loan, yet his previous short stint at Aston Villa left a lasting mark on Tielemans. The pair linked up in the second half of the 2024–25 campaign, a period when Rashford’s fallout with Amorim dominated headlines and his every move drew scrutiny.

That noise never really went away. Rashford arrived at Villa with questions swirling around his attitude and his focus. Tielemans saw something else.

“He was great,” the Belgian said. “There had been so much talk about him and bringing pressure and the media around him, but I thought he was just so good. He was very humble, he was just hard working, and from the first training you could tell his touch, his acceleration was just amazing. That was just what we needed at the time at Villa as well, so he did many good things in that time and hopefully he can bring them here.”

Rashford played his role in Villa’s charge to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they eventually fell to eventual winners PSG. Under the spotlight, he delivered enough for Tielemans to believe there is still a top-level player there, if the environment is right and the trust is real.

Now that environment might be Manchester again.

Familiar faces have eased Tielemans’ own transition. Old Trafford is new, but the dressing room is not entirely unfamiliar. He has already shared a pitch with Harry Maguire and worked closely with Jonny Evans at Leicester City, and that history is already paying off.

“I played with Harry for just a bit less than six months and it was great at the time,” he said. “You could see him and Jonny had a great partnership. Harry was younger at the time and Jonny was guiding him a bit more, but you could see his qualities on the ball.

“Defensively, he is rock solid, so I think he has improved a lot over the years as well. On Jonny, Jonny has always been a main character. He has always been trying to educate young players and he welcomed me at Leicester, and now here.

“It is a bit weird to see him as staff member, to be honest, but no, it is going great. He knows me, he knows what I need and what I can bring to the team, so it helps me as well.”

If Rashford is chasing a fresh start, Tielemans knows exactly what it means to wait for the right move. His arrival at United is the product of a long courtship, not a sudden twist. Twice before, he held talks over a transfer to Old Trafford. Twice, it came to nothing.

Now, at the third attempt, he finally walks out as a United player.

“It is a great achievement for any player to end up here,” he said. “There has been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve to anything.

“When a move comes up, then if it needs to happen, it will happen. At the times that I have been linked with the club before, it did not happen, but it is what it is.”

For Tielemans, the wait has ended. For Rashford, the real question is only just beginning: with a former team-mate backing his talent and a new regime in place, will United be the club where he finally settles – or the stage for his last act in Manchester?