Michael Carrick understands the model that served Manchester United well under Sir Alex Ferguson.The success of the 1990s and 2000s was built on a recruitment approach that prioritised bringing the best Premier League talent to Old Trafford before looking further afield across Europe.Roy Keane, Dwight Yorke, Andrew Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Rio Ferdinand, and Wayne Rooney were among the most successful recruits in the club’s history, all poached from fellow Premier League sides before becoming title winners.Carrick arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 as a replacement for Keane in central midfield, and went on to spend 12 fruitful seasons at the club. Twenty years later, the club are looking to regenerate their midfield once again.It is a recruitment model that United have returned to in recent years. Signing Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha from Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers was the start, and United have already landed Brazil international Andrey Santos from Chelsea this summer.Youri Tielemans is the latest example, with United finalising a deal worth £35million ($47m) to bring the Belgium international from Aston Villa to Old Trafford.Crucially, where do Tielemans’ strengths lie? What will he offer to Carrick’s side? Where might he fit in their new-look midfield?Given United were looking to replace the qualities of the departing Casemiro, the simplest approach would be to find a player who can instantly fill the void left by the Brazil international.Casemiro’s front-footed defensive work rate is one of his biggest strengths. No Premier League midfielder (with 900-plus minutes played) attempted more than his 13 ‘true’ tackles (tackles plus fouls committed plus challenges lost) per 1,000 opponent touches last season — with a propensity to snuff out attacks and firefight when United are out of possession.Crucially, this defensive awareness is coupled with a cultured calmness on the ball, keeping possession ticking over but capable of punching the ball forward to team-mates ahead of him.Collating his playing profile in The Athletic’s season-level player dashboard, we can use advanced metrics to calculate who has a similar skill set to Casemiro.Helpfully, a certain Mr Y Tielemans pops out in the top-five shortlist.At 29, Tielemans has plenty of miles on the clock, but the expectation is that his impact in a United shirt will be seamless and immediate.Looking at his profile below, the attributes of an anchoring midfielder are all on show with a similar propensity to support his team’s build-up (on-ball involvement) and look after possession (press resistance).Specifically, Tielemans’ front-foot defending closely matches Casemiro’s, with 10.5 true tackles per 1,000 opponent touches — the sixth-highest among Premier League midfielders.Casemiro, who turned 34 in February, did not have the athleticism to cover ground last season, relying instead on his awareness and reading of play to contribute defensively. Tielemans is cut from a similar cloth.