Pre-season provided plenty of positives for Aston Villa, and the immediate impression made by summer signing Youri Tielemans was certainly among them.
The 26-year-old was a key figure for Leicester City during his four-year stint with the Foxes, as he contributed 28 goals and 26 assists in 195 appearances, as he also helped them to an FA Cup success and consistently impressive finishes in the Premier League.
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However, question marks were raised over the Belgian international last season as they struggled before being relegated from the top flight, and there was an element of doubt over the signing as a result, despite it being on a free transfer.
There is no denying the talent that Tielemans possesses, and the experience that he has gained throughout his club career as well having now made 60 appearances for Belgium, means that he has the capability of being an important part of most squads.
That said, the attitude had to be right, and particularly with the demands of fitting into Unai Emery’s system, style of play and adapting to the demands that come with that, as with any new signing, there needed to be proof that Tielemans would be able to tick all the right boxes and prove that decision to bring him in was the right one.
While it may only have been pre-season, he certainly did that with his performances against Fulham and Lazio in particular, as he emerged as one of the stand-out performers in both games and arguably proved to be the biggest hit of our three summer signings over the course of our preparations for the new campaign.
With his technical ability on the ball to help us control tempo and dictate through possession, he has shown great composure, temperament, vision and range of passing in playing a key role in some impressive performances as a team.
Further, with a direct influence in the build-up to some of our goals, Tielemans has made a strong case for inclusion in our starting XI against Newcastle Utd this weekend, but time will tell if Emery can make that work alongside Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn.
“It’s been really good,” he told VillaTV after his Player of the Match display against Fulham in Orlando. “We’ve been to some good cities and had a chance to look around. It’s really good to be out here and with the team.
“For myself, being a new player with a new squad, it’s really positive.”
It looks as though Tielemans has fitted in seamlessly this summer, and as Villa look to compete on multiple fronts this season, he will undoubtedly prove to be a pivotal option for Emery as we need different solutions to continue to find ways to win within the structure that the Spanish tactician has created.
Whether it’s alongside Luiz or in rotation with him, we have another ball-playing midfielder who can run things in that area of the pitch for us, and with the balance that Kamara and McGinn will continue to provide, it looks to be another brilliant bit of business from Villa to further strengthen an area of the squad that has become one of our key strengths.
Take nothing away from Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby as they’ve both looked good too and ultimately we want all three at the peak of their respective games in the coming months and years, but Tielemans has added that touch of class with his performances to excite us about what he will offer moving forward.
Been impressed with Tielemans so far? How do you see him fitting into the Villa starting midfield?
