Aston Villa player said to be going through ‘bad period’ – Recent performances have ‘not been convincing’

Youri Tielemans has found it difficult to enjoy regular game time with both Aston Villa and Belgium.

On Monday, De Rode Duivels’ clash against Sweden was abandoned after the first-half after two Swedish fans were shot dead in Brussels.

Everton’s Amadou Onana was suspended for the clash and the Aston Villa player, who came off the bench against Austria, was included in the starting lineup against Sweden.

Het Laatste Nieuws had pipped Royal Antwerp star duo of Arthur Vermeeren and Mandela Keita to start ahead of Tielemans yesterday.

Despite the tragic event, former Belgium forward Marc Degryse voice his displeasure with Domenico Tedesco’s decision to field the Aston Villa midfielder instead of Vermeeren and Keita.

“Surprising. I even put both of them. Vermeeren and Keita, to the detriment of Mangala. They know each other and complement each other well, whereas Tielemans is going through a bad period. His past international matches have not been convincing. No, people are waiting for Vermeeren and Keita,” he said.

Former Anderlecht striker Jan Mulder has backed Degryse and insisted that he would have favoured Vermeeren ahead of the former Leicester City man.

“Vermeeren is in top form, has more class and is the more modern footballer. Not that Tielemans is old, but he is from the previous generation. Things are a little slower for him,” Mulder explained.

The 26-year-old’s decision to join Aston Villa on a free transfer in the last window has not yet paid off. He has clocked in 515 minutes of action from 13 games and it doesn’t include a single start in the league.