Aston Villa: Youri Tielemans ‘scapegoat’ verdict mooted despite frequent missteps
We’re delighted to welcome Aston Villa podcaster Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Despite frequent mistakes and questionable performances for Aston Villa, Youri Tielemans should not be a scapegoat, according to Ty Bracey.
Tielemans’ start to life at Villa Park has not been ideal for the former Leicester City man. The Belgian has managed just 513 minutes of football so far this season, while in the Premier League he is yet to complete two full 90s. He has clearly not emerged as a Unai Emery favourite, but the odds of him breaking the midfield partnership of Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz were small.
However, his frequent missteps and lacklustre outings have done him few favours. Per SofaScore, Tielemans failed to have any impression off the bench against Wolves, with no key passes, no shots and just 11 passes completed, while in the Legia Warszawa defeat, he lost possession eight times, had a 50 per cent long ball accuracy and no tackles.
Bracey has defended Tielemans and rejects the notion that he should be the scapegoat when the side fails, suggesting that a partnership with him and either Kamara or Luiz would serve to prove his quality.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bracey said: “Tielemans appears to be the scapegoat sometimes, but not for me. He does do a lot right but he does make mistakes.
“It’s probably tough having Leander Dendoncker next to him as well. He’d be absolutely fine if he had either Boubacar Kamara or Douglas Luiz next to him, it would be much better. That showed when they brought Luiz on [against Wolves].
“He’s no scapegoat for me, but a few poor performances and a few mistakes from Tielemans that probably could have been avoided but he’s trying.”
In other Aston Villa news, a Villa loanee is fighting for his future as his deal could be terminated in January.