What Youri Tielemans told Rio Ferdinand now looks eye-opening after Man United lose to Hull City

Youri Tielemans left fans surprised when he admitted earlier this month that Manchester United's pre-season had not involved a lot of fitness work.

Those comments have been revisited following the Red Devils' 2-0 defeat to Hull City in their Premier League opener on Saturday.

Goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy secured the three points for the newly-promoted side, who outfought and outran their opponents.

Man United will add legs to their midfield with the addition of Carlos Baleba, who will join in the coming days, but the disparity in physical condition must be a concern to Michael Carrick.

Tielemans, in particular, looked to struggle with the pace of the play and gave away the free-kick that led to the second goal.

The Belgian cost £35million to sign from Aston Villa earlier this summer and is expected to be a great addition to the midfield, but Saturday saw his weaknesses exposed.

What Youri Tielemans said in pre-season

Tielemans has never been known to be a physically dominant midfielder, and can be bypassed with pace.

The Belgium international brings huge technical quality and can single-handedly run games from deep.

However, against Hull, he appeared to be completely off the pace of his opponents and was largely a passenger.

Tielemans misplaced eight passes, lost four duels, was dribbled past twice and failed to complete a single successful dribble.

More concerning was how tired he appeared on the pitch, seemingly being beaten to every ball by his opponents.

In an interview for Rio Ferdinand Presents released just last week, Tielemans told the legendary ex-Man United defender that the focus had not been on running in pre-season.

"We've just had a nice spa day," he said. "Just a sharp session [this morning], that's what it's been like mostly. [Not loads of running?] No, when you come back from the World Cup, you just chill."

How Carlos Baleba will help Man United

Baleba will sign for Man United in the coming hours after a deal worth up to £70m was agreed with Brighton.

And it is immediately clear what the 22-year-old will bring to the Red Devils midfield.

In around 200 minutes less on the field in the Premier League last season, Baleba covered over 118km more distance than Tielemans, and completed 228 more sprints.

On a per 90 basis, the midfielder covered almost three times the distance than his new teammate and over six times the sprints.