Man United move to sign Youri Tielemans in £35m deal - with Red Devils triggering Aston Villa star's release clause after PULLING OUT of £39m move for Atalanta star Ederson

Manchester United

have triggered

Aston Villa

midfielder

Youri Tielemans

' £35million release clause.

Villa did not wish to lose the Belgium international and had offered fresh terms but the condition in his contract allowed United to advance and talks are accelerating.

The 29-year-old, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals with Belgium but missed their 2-1 defeat by Spain with an injury.

Admired for his vision and passing ability, Tielemans has been with Villa for three seasons and before that spent four-and-a-half years with Leicester including a loan spell.

It comes in a busy period for Villa.

Daily Mail Sport

revealed on Monday that Lucas Digne is a target for

Paris Saint-Germain

under a similar arrangement, while the Midlands outfit are also closing in on a club-record deal for Swiss star Johan Manzambi, who is expected to cost close to £60m.

Tielemans' loss would be a blow to Villa, who will need a deep squad after reaching the

Champions League

.

Manchester United have triggered Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans' £35m release clause

The 29-year-old reached the World Cup quarter-finals with Belgium but they lost to Spain

Villa are operating under strict financial restrictions imposed by UEFA, which mean they cannot spend more on football costs than they bring in. That means any deal for Manzambi would have to be offset by sales, and the departures of both Digne and Tielemans would fulfil that.

Both players had two years remaining on their deals. Digne is 32 and Tielemans, whose sale would count as pure profit as he was signed on a free transfer, is 29. Yet both were key men for Villa boss Unai Emery, who is unlikely to be happy to lose them.

United are also in the process of completing a £50million deal for

Chelsea

midfielder Andrey Santos, who impressed on loan at Strasbourg last campaign.

Central midfield is one of the positions which Michael Carrick wants to bolster this summer.

United are, of course, losing Casemiro after four seasons and his presence will be missed given how he finished his Old Trafford career on a high.

Manuel Ugarte, who had been expected to leave the club, is also out of action with a long-term knee ligament injury suffered in the World Cup with Uruguay. He described it as 'the most serious injury a footballer can face'.

It has not been a smooth summer for United. They have missed out on their principal midfield targets, Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, after they joined Manchester City for £116m and Tottenham for £85m respectively.

The Reds have also pulled out of their pursuit of Atalanta midfielder Ederson, worth around £39m, on medical grounds.

He has now returned to Italy and is poised to go on holiday to take stock of his situation. Atalanta are prepared to give him a new contract to stay.

Tielemans would represent a strong signing with significant Premier League and European experience.

If Tielemans completes his move, it would leave Villa extremely light in central midfield. Tielemans’ Belgium team-mate Amadou Onana ruptured his ACL during the World Cup while Boubacar Kamara is still recovering from his own knee injury sustained in January.

Emery’s target at the start of the summer had been to sign attackers who can operate across the front line yet he may now have to turn his attention to midfield.

Meanwhile, Morgan Rogers is a target for Arsenal but Villa will not entertain bids unless they comfortably exceed £100m.