After Aston Villa were dealt a huge injury blow this week with Youri Tielemans potentially set to miss the remainder of the season, Unai Emery will look to others to help fill the void.
Given the level of influence and the unique way in which he plays that specific role so well, it’s arguably impossible to replicate what the Belgian midfielder does for Villa in both phases, coupling his tenacity and work ethic with technical class, vision and passing range that is superior to many others in his position.
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With all 52 of his appearances this season coming as a starter, he has been Villa’s man of steel in the middle of the pitch, and is surely a shoe-in to sweep up at the club’s end-of-season awards after what has been a hugely impressive campaign on an individual level.
Now though, after it was reported that Tielemans suffered a muscle injury this past week and may miss our final three Premier League games of the season as we continue to chase Champions League qualification, Emery and Villa have to find solutions, and fortunately, we have the strength in depth and competition for places to provide the Basque coach with options, and they’ll all be needed.
With a difficult trip to Bournemouth first up this weekend, it arguably makes most sense to start Amadou Onana alongside Boubacar Kamara in our deeper midfield pivot, giving us more security, physical presence and solidity to shield the backline and try to limit the home side’s threat given the quality that they possess in the final third.
Ultimately at this stage of the campaign and with what’s on the line, Villa just need to find ways to win, and playing open and expansive football at the Vitality Stadium might not be the smartest idea. In turn, going slightly more defensive but with quality of our own in the attacking third to make the difference, hopefully that gives us the balance needed to take all three points back home.
Conversely, given their poor form this year despite reaching the Europa League final, Villa may well wish to be on the front-foot more against both Tottenham and Manchester United, and that is where John McGinn’s versatility comes into play as he could drop deeper to partner Kamara and give us that drive needed in midfield to dominate, dictate and control that particular battle with his all-action style of play.
It’s not a new thing for the Villa skipper as he’s had to play in that role previously and he’s done it effectively, so the hope is that he can step in and show his ability to make a positive impact on a game regardless of the position he’s needed in as he’s so often a tempo and tone setter on the pitch for the rest of the team.
Villa’s third option is Ross Barkley, who must now fast-track his process of getting back up to full speed after his injury layoff, as he has struggled when coming on from the bench in recent weeks with the pace and tempo of the game.
That’s understandable as he needs minutes to find his rhythm and match fitness, but time isn’t a luxury we have much of at this stage, and so whether it’s being asked to come on at Bournemouth and give us more creative quality in our build-up play to find a breakthrough or to see out wins over Spurs and Man Utd by controlling possession and giving us stability, he is arguably the most similar option to Tielemans in terms of what he can offer on the ball, and so we’ll need him to make a crucial contribution too.
There’s no escaping the fact that losing Tielemans is a massive blow for Villa, but we have others available to step in, and they must now deliver to help us get over the line to achieve one of our fundamental objectives this season.