Youri Tielemans fails to prove why he deserves Aston Villa starting spot in int’l qualifier
Youri Tielemans failed to prove why he should be starting for Aston Villa in his performance for Belgium against Azerbaijan on Saturday (9 September).
The 26-year-old started for the Red Devils on the right-hand side of a midfield as his side claimed a 1-0 victory in the European Championship qualifier.
The midfielder is looking to stake a claim as to why he should be starting for Villa, but he was largely unimpressive in the game before he was replaced on 66 minutes.
Tielemans joined Villa on a free transfer from Leicester City over the summer following their relegation down to the Championship.
The midfielder understandably wanted to continue playing at the highest level and, after a string of impressive performances during his four years at the King Power Stadium, there was a reasonable amount of interest from other clubs in signing him.
But it was the Villans that managed to persuade him to make the switch to Birmingham in what was seen as the first coup of the summer for the club.
The Belgian has, however, not quite had the start to life at Villa Park that he was probably initially expecting after largely playing second fiddle behind Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz.
He is yet to start in the Premier League, having only played a combined 93 minutes in the competition during his four outings off the bench.
That has meant he’s had to try and use the time he’s hand on the field to impress and, unfortunately for him, he hasn’t managed to standout yet.
The midfielder hasn’t had a single shot on goal or created any chances for his teammates despite being known for his creativity in the middle of the park during his time with Leicester [SofaScore].
While his pass accuracy has been high at 92 per cent, he has only made 0.3 tackles as well completing just 0.3 dribbles and he has lost possession 1.8 times.
Tielemans would have been hoping to send a message to Unai Emery for Belgium, but it didn’t quite go to plan as he recorded the second-lowest rating for his side and the lowest of any of the midfielders at 6.8.
He had 49 touches and recorded a solid 89 per cent pass accuracy, but he only found a teammate with one of his five long balls forward.
He didn’t have any shots on goal, create any chances or complete any dribbles, while he lost possession on six occasions for his side.
It wasn’t exactly a poor performance from the midfielder, but at a time when he has a point to prove to the Villa manager, this was an opportunity that perhaps passed him by.
In other Aston Villa news, one big-money signing continued his average start to life at Villa against Liverpool.