Youri Tielemans 'now looks a lot happier' with life at Aston Villa

GiveMeSport

·22 November 2023

Youri Tielemans 'now looks a lot happier' with life at Aston Villa

Highlights

Youri Tielemans had started life at Aston Villa struggling, with Unai Emery reluctant to give him game time.
Tielemans had a shaky start at Villa Park and was criticised for poor performances early on.
But now the Belgian defender is starting to settle into the team and prove his value, and Aston Villa fans are beginning to back him.

Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans now looks 'a lot happier' because of one key change under Unai Emery, journalist Neil Moxley has suggested to GIVEMESPORT.

Tielemans had arrived at Villa Park from Leicester City in the summer transfer window, following the Foxes' relegation to the EFL Championship, but his first few months with Aston Villa were plagued by dodgy performances. However, having seemingly turned a corner under boss Unai Emery, the Belgian international will be keen to play a key role in the second-half of the campaign for the Villans. And with Champions League football in their sights, it's hinted Tielemans could prove a useful option to have in the Aston Villa ranks.

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Tielemans move questioned after shaky start

After just a couple of matches in an Aston Villa shirt, there were some questioning whether Tielemans' move from the East Midlands to the West Midlands was a sensible decision. Standing out for all the wrong reasons during Aston Villa's League Cup defeat against Everton earlier this year, journalist Ben Jacobs dubbed the midfielder the 'worst player on the pitch'.

It was a claim backed up by his FotMob match rating, as Tielemans could only muster a 4.9 score for the 78 minutes he played during the defeat. An astonishingly low ranking, not least when you consider Tielemans was brought into the club as one of Aston Villa's highest earners.

While he may not have commanded a transfer fee upon the expiration of this contract at the King Power Stadium, Tielemans is still costing Aston Villa a pretty penny, as the 26-year-old is pocketing a whopping £150,000 per week. Money which at first looked like it could've been better spent elsewhere, but is now starting to prove good value for Aston Villa.

Make no mistake, starts have been hard to come by for Tielemans at Villa Park, with the Belgian international named in the starting-11 for a Premier League clash just once so far this season. It came in the final match before the international break, with the ex-Leicester man registering 90 minutes during a 3-1 win over Fulham.

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Prior to that, the majority of Tielemans' game time had come in the Europa Conference League, where slowly but surely he'd started to catch the eye. Netting during Aston Villa's October victory against AZ Alkmaar, it looks like Tielemans is starting to prove to Emery and Co. why they were right to bring him into the fold.

Neil Moxley update - Youri Tielemans

A feeling which is also shared among the Aston Villa fanbase, with Tielemans beginning to endear himself to the Villans faithful. Something which journalist Moxley picked up on during an interview with GIVEMESPORT, where he tipped Tielemans to go on and enjoy a successful second half of the campaign:

“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. I mean, you don't get to play centre midfield for the number one FIFA-ranked side on the planet, which is Belgium, if you can't do a bit, and Tielemans can.”

Tielemans teammate now target for Premier League club during January transfer window

Tielemans could actually end up seeing his game time increase tenfold, should reports that Arsenal are tracking the progress of Douglas Luiz turn out to be true.

It's reported that the Brazil star remains a player of interest to Arsenal, who had previously seen three bids rejected by Aston Villa last season. If successful this time around, it will leave a gigantic hole in the Aston Villa squad, with Luiz having averaged an impressive 7.16 WhoScored rating from his performances in the Premier League for the one-time European champions this season.