Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has admitted he worked out for himself what his best position was and couldn’t care less about statistics either.
The Aston Villa star has been speaking to Gazete Van Antwerpen about life at Villa Park as they gear up for a big night in the Champions League quarterfinals against Paris Saint Germain.
The Belgian has finally established himself as a key player under Unai Emery, starting all games in all competitions and only being left out of the games in the Carabao Cup.
It’s been a real defining year for the midfielder, who finally appears to have established himself as the star man that many had predicted he would be from an early age.
The longstanding question had been what his best role was, with him bouncing between various positions in midfield during his career, and he admits ultimately, he worked it out for himself.
“Yes, I have figured it out myself,” he said.
“In midfield they usually say, central midfielder, that you have three positions. You have the sixth, eight or ten. I see myself more as an eight, somewhere in between. That I can defend a bit, attack a bit. So, I can do a bit of both.
“But of course, it depends on the system the coach wants to play. I have mostly played central midfielder this season. In itself that does not really matter. What does matter is how that tactic is put together. How I can get the ball and what my qualities are of course.
“My qualities are getting the ball and trying to make the team rotate as much as possible. In the position that I can play. That is what I try to do the most.”
Fortunately focusing on that side of the game has not led to a drastic reduction in the statistics for Tielemans this season.
Rather, he’s one assist away from matching his assist tally from last season in the Premier League and has already matched his goal tally. He’s also got two assists and one goal in 10 games in the Champions League.
He’s not concerned either way, though, insisting that he’s not one for focusing on individual numbers.
“I am just concerned with my game, with how I can improve,” he added.
“How I can help the team, help and influence as much as possible, influence the game. I have also learned that over the years, that I can get much more into the game. At times when I was a bit out of sight on the field.”
