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Youri Tielemans 'friction' with Unai Emery at Aston Villa only he can solve, 'it's there in black and white for him' says BBC pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Youri Tielemans has “in black and white” what he has to do to get more opportunities at Aston Villa and the “ball is kind of in his court”, says Alan Hutton.
The Belgian made clear his dissatisfaction at how he is being used by Unai Emery since his arrival from Leicester City in the summer when speaking to the media on international duty [DH les Sports, 8 September], having only been handed late substitute appearances so far in the Premier League.
But with Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz playing well Hutton says the new man must reach their level to get more chances, and while there is a risk of “friction” between Tielemans and the manager it shouldn’t be a problem within the squad.
The BBC pundit exclusively told Villa News: “Probably not within the squad no, because at the end of the day those are his teammates.
“Any kind of friction that happens is between the manager and player.
“[He] feels that he should possibly be playing but, again, given opportunities if [Emery] doesn’t feel that he’s better than the likes of Douglas Luiz or Kamara, these guys who are playing those positions every week…
“That’s the standard he has to get to. It’s there in black and white for him.
“It’s, ‘If you can’t get to that level and do the job that I’m asking you to do then you aren’t going to get the minutes’.
“So it’s up to him to go and prove the manager that he can handle that, so the ball is kind of in his court.”
Tielemans, 26, has proven himself an able Premier League operator during his time at the King Power, but as a free transfer from a relegated side he is clearly going to have a challenge on his hands to walk straight into a line up that is functioning well.
The season is long and injuries are bound to see him get an opportunity sooner or later, but currently his involvement in Carabao Cup and Europa Conference League defeats won’t be making his argument much stronger, and statistically there isn’t an overwhelming case to change things up.
His past two starts have resulted in two defeats, and while he may not be the prime culprit for either it is going to take more than that to convince Emery to drop one of the parts of his best XI, which is currently faring far better in the top flight.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton can’t work out the manager’s intentions after a “strange” decision backfired on a big night.