Last summer, Youri Tielemans joined Aston Villa on a free transfer and had initially found it difficult to become a regular under Unai Emery.
The Belgium international’s situation has improved and he’s now a regular for Aston Villa. Last month, the midfielder said he’s reaping the rewards after overcoming initial struggles. He starred in the Villans 2-0 win over Arsenal last weekend, and even registered an assist.
Speaking to Sporza, Belgian football commentator Filip Joos said he was impressed with the Aston Villa midfielder’s performance against the Gunners.
“He played lower than normal against the Gunners because Douglas Luiz, the regular No 6, was suspended. Tielemans played football in service of the two midfielders in front of him, which is what happens at De Rode Duivels [national team],” he said.
“And he did that perfectly. During the match, he often had to react quickly under pressure and always play forward football. It all had to happen quickly, but he was really strong,” Van der Elst explained.
Joos has backed the former Leicester City man to further impress under Emery’s orders at Aston Villa.
“In principle, he will get even better with more time on the ball. Aston Villa is a well-oiled machine. Unai Emery always lets his team play football, even under intense pressure from the opponent,” he added.
Both Joose and Van der Elst are pleased with his form for Aston Villa and believe it will be beneficial for Belgium at the Euros. In fact, the former believes the midfielder should be included in the list of the current national team stars, after shining under Emery’s orders.
“Sunday’s Tielemans can be mentioned in the same breath as Lukaku, De Bruyne and Vertonghen,” Joos added.
Joos was backed up by Van der Elst, who said: “If we are talking about the Tielemans of yesterday [against Arsenal], then certainly.”
Tielemans has scored two goals and registered seven assists from 42 games for Aston Villa this season.
