Youri Tielemans on Marcus Rashford's Return to Manchester United

Youri Tielemans is relishing a familiar face at Carrington – and it is one he is convinced can still light up Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford is back in Manchester United colours, back in first-team training, and back under the microscope after 18 turbulent months away from his boyhood club. Frozen out by former boss Ruben Amorim and sent on a series of loans, the 26-year-old returns with his future still uncertain and his reputation still debated.

Tielemans has seen a different side.

The pair shared a dressing room at Aston Villa in the second half of the 2024-25 season, when Rashford arrived in the Midlands in the middle of a storm of criticism and headlines about his fallout with Amorim. Under pressure and under constant glare, Rashford still helped drive Villa to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they bowed out to eventual winners PSG.

For Tielemans, that spell said plenty.

“He was great,” the Belgian midfielder 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.”

Barcelona chose not to take up a £26million option to sign Rashford permanently after his loan at Camp Nou last season, leaving United with a talented academy graduate whose trajectory remains unclear. Tielemans, though, sees a player who can still change games if the environment is right and the opportunity comes.

Familiar faces have helped the Belgian settle quickly into his own new surroundings. Rashford is not the only link to his past.

At Leicester City, Tielemans shared a dressing room with Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans, the latter now part of Erik ten Hag’s staff at United. Those bonds have carried over.

“I played with Harry for just a bit less than six months and it was great at the time,” Tielemans recalled. “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.”

For Tielemans, pulling on a United shirt has been a long time coming. Twice before, talks with the club led nowhere. This summer, the move finally happened.

“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.”

Now he has his chance. So does Rashford.

One midfielder finally at the club he chased for years, one forward fighting to reclaim his place at the club he never wanted to leave. How they mesh at Old Trafford this season could define more than just their own stories.