Aston Villa signed Youri Tielemans on a free transfer in June 2023 and he initially wasn’t able to enjoy regular minutes under Unai Emery.
The midfielder overcame those initial struggles and cemented his place in Aston Villa’s starting XI. He’s managed four goals and 11 assists from 59 games, of which a goal and four assists are from 13 matches this season.
Tielemans is aware that there are negtative comments made by others about his failure to secure a move to a perceived top club.
The Aston Villa player revealed this during an interview with Het Belang van Limburg and his comments are relayed by Foot News.
The Belgium international came up through Anderlecht’ ranks and spent four years with their first team. He left them for AS Monaco in 2017 and failed to impress in the Ligue 1.
Leicester City signed the 27-year-old, initially on a loan deal in January 2019, and made his stay permanent later that year. He left the Foxes as a free agent and joined the Villans in 2023.
Tielemans is pleased to have picked Aston Villa, where he has a deal lasting until 2027. At the same time, he won’t close the door on a move to a big club.
“I’ve heard left and right about why I didn’t go to such a big club earlier, but I’m doing really well here. The coach wanted to reach the Champions League, and we are already there, earlier than expected,” he said.
“Aston Villa will still grow, but when you have the opportunity to move up, you never say no in advance. At the moment I’m not thinking about it.”
Tielemans or the outlet haven’t specified what’s deemed as a ‘move up’ for him.
