Youri Tielemans who looked like a ‘fish up a tree’ is now undroppable at Aston Villa after recent displays
Aston Villa summer signing Youri Tielemans is now an undroppable commodity at Villa Park – a complete turnaround after looking like a “Fish in a tree” a month ago.
The 26-year-old has struggled for game time since joining the Villans on a free transfer in the summer from Leicester City and the 3-1 win over Fulham before the international break (12 November) was his first Premier League start since.
The midfielder had been highly sought after for a number of years by several big clubs, but Unai Emery persuaded him to make the move to the Villans after their qualification for the Europa Conference League last season.
However, his struggles early in his career at Villa Park aroused several reports that the Belgian had fallen out of favour with Emery and was unsettled already after his limited opportunities.
He made his feelings known about how Emery was utilising him since his arrival from Leicester City in the summer when speaking to the media on international duty [DH les Sports, 8 September].
Football Insider reported on 11 October that the Belgium international may seek to leave Villa Park in January due to a fallout with manager Unai Emery.
Tielemans had played in every single one of Villa’s matches this season but had not played for more than 45 minutes in the league since the opening-day defeat at Newcastle, before the Fulham triumph.
However, the 26-year-old poured cold water over those rumours with a sublime display against the West Londoners, one which drew frank praise from BBC pundit and Arsenal legend Ian Wright (Match of the Day 2, 12 November).
In the clash against Fulham, Tielemans was imperious at both ends of the pitch. He recorded a key pass and created a big chance, had a shot on target, and drew four fouls to ease the pressure on his team and give them set-piece opportunities high up. [Sofascore]
The Belgian also won seven of his 11 attempted duels, with a 100% success rate in the air, making two interceptions and one tackle and he proved to his boss he could provide assistance both going forward and in defence.
The international break may well have come at the wrong time for Tielemans after that sublime display but certainly wowed Emery again with another masterclass for Belgium in their 1-0 win over Serbia on 15 November.
As per SofaScore, the midfield maestro successfully completed 83% of his passes, recorded four key passes, created two big chances, won five ground duels, successfully completed two of his three long balls, won three fouls and won two tackles in a complete display.
He followed that up with a masterclass cameo against Azerbaijan on Sunday (19 November) with which Emery will now look at being hard-pressed to drop him in the coming games.
Journalist Neil Moxley, speaking to GiveMeSport (22 November) praised the Belgian’s transformation in recent weeks and claimed he looks a lot happier after recent performances.
He said: “Tielemans now looks a lot happier. He had played earlier on in the season against Everton in a Carabao Cup game and looked like a fish up a tree. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t trying, but everything he did try, just didn’t come off. And it was difficult not to feel a little bit sorry for him.
“I know Aston Villa lost that game until Tielemans was used by Emery and also in the game against Legia Warsaw, he seemed a little bit off the pace. He had not played a lot of football and Warsaw hit Aston Villa with all the force of a cold shower, I don’t think they really realised that they were stepping into such a bear pit.
“So yeah, it’s taken a little bit of time for him to warm up. But if Aston Villa can utilise Tielemans to his best advantage, which is basically his use of the ball, and his experience now.”
With the Villans facing off in a crucial and testing clash after the international break against Ange Postecolgou’s Tottenham on Sunday 26 November, it would be a major surprise should Emery not unleash him from the off in North London.
The former Leicester City certainly looked a player struggling to acclimatise to his new surroundings, like a fish out of a water bowl but fast forward a month and he’s a man on a mission, looking totally at home in Birmingham.
In other Aston Villa news, an exit decision has been made on one academy graduate with the January transfer window now just weeks away.