Unai Emery has been told that one of his Aston Villa stars is now ‘indispensable’ to his side, despite starting the season as an outsider at Villa Park.
It’s been a fantastic season for Aston Villa so far, with the momentum not stopping as the Villans are in touching distance to securing Champions League qualification and claiming European Silverware.
The past 10 days have been emphatic for Villa fans, who have seen their side beat Arsenal at the Emirates, progress to the last four of the Europa Conference League and go six points clear of Spurs in the race for fourth place by beating Bournemouth.
On top of the marvellous on-field antics, Villa announced that Unai Emery has signed a contract extension with the club, adding to the excitement around Villa Park today, and in the future.
One of the reasons for the manager’s success has been his adaptability, combatting numerous squad injuries throughout the campaign, on top of playing a significant number of games.
It’s not just Emery’s adaptability as a coach, but the reaction of his players also, with one standing out as a figure that has truly turned his season at Villa around.
Youri Tielemans has become ‘indispensable’ to Unai Emery at Aston Villa
In the summer, Aston Villa welcomed former Leicester City maestro Youri Tielemans to Villa Park, acquiring the Belgian on a free transfer at the expiration of his contract with the Foxes.
A famed magician in the ‘number eight’ role at Leicester, the 26-year-old is yet to have the opportunity to play in his favoured area at Villa however, this has not stopped him from performing.
Speaking on the Claret and Blue podcast, journalist John Townley lauded Tielemans’ ability to adapt to Emery’s system, something that caused him problems at the start of his time at the club.
“For Tielemans, it’s been a big difference, a big transition for him but what a footballer.
“We’re seeing that in games against Bournemouth, some of the balls in behind, he’s a really really good footballer and he’s sort of indispensable in that role next to Watkins.
“He’s actually proven that he’s indispensable in the XI to a degree when he comes backwards as well, he’s doing so many different things, a really sound footballer.”
How Youri Tielemans has managed to turn things around
Adding to Townley’s comment on Tielemans doing ‘so many different things’, the Belgian has shown his worth to the manager by transforming his approach to play.
At the start of the campaign, the Belgium international had to wait his turn to get into the starting XI, before being introduced to the lineup playing in the pocket just behind Ollie Watkins.
It was there that the 26-year-old started to show his playmaking sparkle, forcing club-record signing Moussa Diaby out of the favoured XI to make the role his own.
The FA Cup winner was then forced to switch positions due to a need for cover in midfield because of the absence of Boubacar Kamara, followed by the suspensions of both John McGinn and Douglas Luiz.
At first, Tielemans’ defensive side was questioned as he attempted to adapt to playing deeper in midfield however, he once more showed his quality soon after being criticised.
Now, the Belgian has indeed become an ‘indispensable’ force for Emery, with his style of play and ability to adapt becoming the pinnacle of how the manager likes his side to play through the channels.
Starting with a slow build-up from the back to then finding one pocket of space in the midfield works well for Villa, and Tielemans, who is capable of executing a deadly pass to induce a positive passage of play, as seen with his assist against Arsenal.
It’s been quite the season for the summer arrival, who having turned his fortunes around, will leave many Premier League clubs red-faced at not attempting to capture him as a free agent in 2023.
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