Aston Villa have officially unveiled Youri Tielemans as our first summer signing, as he completes a move on a free transfer to join Unai Emery’s squad.
As per the club’s site, the 26-year-old officially joined us on July 1 after his Leicester City contract expired, and off the back of that successful stint at the King Power Stadium, he is now ready for the next chapter in his career.
READ MORE: Tielemans on importance of Emery influence on Villa decision
The Belgian international contributed 28 goals and 26 assists in 195 appearances for the Foxes, while prior to that he bagged 35 goals and 31 assists in 185 games for Anderlecht and had a spell with Monaco where he continued to impress and emerge as a top midfielder.
With 60 caps for Belgium to his name too, Villa are signing a polished, experienced and highly talented player, who will come in ready to make an impact and help us compete at a higher level next season.
Tielemans beyond the numbers, fits Emery style
Tielemans has an 83.7 percent passing completion rate in the Premier League at the time of writing, while his 12.26 successful passes into the final third per 90 minutes in the 2022/23 campaign, puts him top amongst Villa’s current midfielders.
Further, he had more through-balls [0.46], successful passes into the opposition half [25.93], and chances created in open play [1.00] per game than John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara, and so his creative eye and ability to provide service for the likes of Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Buendia will be key.
On the defensive side, he had 7.47 ball recoveries per 90 minutes last season, putting him top again amongst that quartet, as well as 1.49 tackles won, which again sees him claim top spot.
The numbers paint a picture of a player who is more than comfortable in possession, wants the ball at his feet, and is accurate in what he does once he has it as helps control the tempo and build attacks while also having a strong defensive tenacity too.
Combine that with his experience and tactical awareness, we’ve added a real asset to our midfield.
Villa have quality and competition in midfield now with Jacob Ramsey, Luiz, Kamara and McGinn forming the preferred four-man unit in that department for Emery last season, but the Spanish tactician will undoubtedly now relish having another competent, technically gifted option at his disposal to help us run games.
It’s something that Emery has spoken consistently about since arriving in terms of his desire to see us control possession and therefore not only nullify the opposition, but also allow us to create momentum and openings, and Tielemans will help us do that either in tandem with those mentioned above, or in place of them when needed.
The Belgian international is arguably the best like-for-like option to compete with Luiz, who emerged as one of our top players last season and flourished under the guidance of Emery with his freedom to dictate play in a more advanced role.
Time will tell if there is a similar plan in place for Tielemans, but with his composure, technical ability, vision, passing range, tenacity and quality to offer a decisive presence in the final third, we’ll be hoping to see a significant contribution from him and the development of his game to improve further under Emery’s stewardship.
