Gary Pallister questions Manchester United’s pursuit of Youri Tielemans | OneFootball

Manchester United’s move for Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has been described as “underwhelming” by legendary club centre-back Gary Pallister.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein broke the news this morning that United are in “advanced talks” with Aston Villa to sign the Belgian, and this was followed shortly afterwards by a trademark “Here we go!” from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

Tielemans is a name that has emerged unexpectedly as United try to rebuild a decimated midfield this season, following the departure of Casemiro and the ACL injury sustained by Manuel Ugarte during the World Cup. In an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person hosted by NetBet Sport, Pallister said it was not the kind of signing he had expected.

Top targets slipping through the net

“I think we’ve all felt a bit underwhelmed,” he said. “We’re talking about targets like [Elliot] Anderson and [Sandro] Tonali at the end of the season, and we were all licking our lips at them.”

“Especially Tonali – he’s, he’s got the Manchester United stamp all over him. Anderson, we’ve seen what he’s doing at the World Cup at the moment. He’s been that ball-winning, hungry midfielder that we maybe needed as well. They’ve slipped through the net.”

“Tielemans, yeah, he’s an exciting talent, but do I think he’s right out the top drawer? Probably not. So yeah, I think a lot of people will be underwhelmed.”

Financial constraints

We asked Pallister why he thinks Manchester United had gone for Tielemans at this stage.

“If these are the players that Michael’s asking for, and the club are going out and getting them, then fair play,” the former England defender said. “I don’t know whether it’s anything to do with the [financial] fair play system, whether it’s to do with the wage structure thing that they’ve got there now. But I don’t think the signings that we’ve mentioned so far, that we’re interested in, have blown Man United fans away.”

Good, but not next level

Pallister said Tielemans has “moments of magic” and can “get fans off their seat”, but suggested the club needed more. “The kid’s a talented player, but when we’ve been linked with these other kind of players that can really help take us to the next step, then we haven’t been able to bring them in,” he explained.

“A lot of people will see that as — not a step back, but not the marquee signing that we’re looking for.”

The second part of our exclusive interview with Gary Pallister will be published here tomorrow.

Featured image Alex Grimm via Getty Images

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