Youri Tielemans unhappy behind the scenes at Aston Villa, Unai Emery issue mooted
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa will “never” see the best of Youri Tielemans as he won’t get consistent game time at the club, according to Dan Bardell.
Tielemans has failed to impress at Villa Park since his move while a growing amount of reports suggest he is disgruntled and could seek an early exit. With just 1.7 90s of football this season so far, Tielemans may be having some concerns about his free move from Leicester City.
Spanish outlet Fichajes claimed (14 October) that the Belgian is “seriously evaluating” a Villa Park departure with Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad reportedly interested. Elsewhere, Turkish outlet Fanatik claimed (15 October) that Galatasaray could revisit interest.
Bardell claims that while Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz remain Unai Emery’s top choice, fans will never see Tieleman at full strength for Villa. While he may have his chance to make an impact, Bardell admitted the move hasn’t “gone as planned”.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “He won’t be happy. Ultimately he would have expected to play more games since he’s come to Villa. It’s been very up and down and he was good against Crystal Palace, but we’ve nowhere near seen the best of him.
“We’re never going to because he hasn’t had a consistent run in the team or in one position. He’s the kind of player that needs a rhythm and needs to be playing every week. His move hasn’t gone to plan for the player, but from a Villa perspective, if Luiz or Kamara get injured, Tielemans gets into the team.
“That’s a really high-level player for Villa to bring in from the bench, a player who three years ago we couldn’t have dreamed of having, let alone on the bench. He has struggled at times and maybe Emery’s system doesn’t suit him because he isn’t very mobile.
“He looks like he struggles to get back into position. It isn’t gone as planned but I wouldn’t rule out him having an impact this season. He’ll get the Europa Conference League games, but he’ll want to be playing in the Premier League.”
In other Aston Villa news, a zero key-pass Villa man stinks again on international duty and NWSE may sanction a January exit.