It’s been a difficult start to the season for Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans, but there were positive signs this week that he’s starting to find his feet.
After arriving on a free transfer this past summer, the 26-year-old raised expectations and hopes with his impressive outings over pre-season, as he hopefully proves to be an important addition to the squad in our efforts to compete on multiple fronts and at the top level.
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It hasn’t been quite as straightforward for the Belgian international in competitive action, as in his first 13 appearances in a Villa shirt, not only had he failed to provide a decisive touch in the final third in terms of goal involvements, but it was clear that he was struggling to find his best form.
That process can’t have been easy despite the promising signs in the summer. Not only is Tielemans adapting to Unai Emery’s style and demands both tactically and physically, but with the likes of Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara ahead of him in the pecking order, it’s making that adaptation process much more difficult.
It has looked as though the more playing time that Tielemans gets, the more progress he’ll make in fitting into our structure, tactical set-up and way of playing, but when you’re not playing at your best, the team are slipping up in games we rotate in and with top-class performers ahead of him, it has been a complicated few months.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen some promising indications over the past week, starting with his first assist for the club off the bench in our win over West Ham Utd last weekend, before he bagged his first goal for Villa in our impressive win at AZ Alkmaar in midweek.
That was by far Tielemans’ best performance for us to date, as he showed great intensity and urgency with his pressing and work-rate off the ball, while he was efficient and incisive with his distribution on it to make a key difference.
Importantly too, he was able to drift and shift into different areas of the pitch and varying roles, showing his versatility and tactical intelligence to do the job being asked of him by Emery, and that will be a vital box ticked in his bid to secure a more prominent role in the side.
“With Youri, I spoke with him about his best position on the pitch and how he can adapt with his teammates,” Emery said after the win over AZ, as per BirminghamLive. “We have an advantage because last year we built a strong structure offensively and defensively defending. He’s trying to adapt quickly and trying to increase his level in every training session and match.
“I told him, sometimes we have to be patient in ourselves and we have to be patient with him. He is a very good player and he is going to show here, I’m sure, that 100 per cent he is going to play with us, taking his best performances. He needed and he will need more time to be comfortable in our structure.”
It will remain a challenge for Tielemans as if he drops out of the Villa XI this weekend against Luton, he’ll have to continue to come in and find that rhythm and control within the side in limited minutes to make an important impact.
The crucial thing from a collective perspective though is that we’re seeing how he can improve and be influential under Emery, just as we’ve seen with so many of his teammates over the past 12 months who have relished and thrived working with the Spanish tactician.
It was a tricky road to navigate initially with talk off the pitch about his limited role too, but it’s hoped that the past week has been a pivotal period for Tielemans to now find his way to becoming a key figure in our pursuit of success.
Youri Tielemans' first Aston Villa goal, beautifully created by @JMcGinn7! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Qf5J8NUXwn
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 28, 2023