Aston Villa has today announced the successful completion of a deal to secure the services of Youri Tielemans, who was set to be a free agent after June 30th. Villa had been rumored to be in pole position to sign the Belgian international midfielder, although it was uncertain if Tielemans was actually needed to improve the first team, given the strong performances of Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara, and John McGinn in his position under Unai Emery.
However, in terms of squad depth for Villa’s additional European Conference League campaign, Tielemans will certainly be a welcome addition, providing legitimate competition to Villa’s existing midfield corps.
Question Marks
There have been some concerns this season about Tielemans due to a slump in form. He had a lackluster season with Leicester City, who were subsequently relegated, and also faced criticism for his performances for Belgium in last year’s World Cup. Despite being linked with moves to Liverpool and Arsenal, a big move never materialized, so Tielemans will need to reset his mindset and focus on the future.
Villa supporters will undoubtedly hope that Unai Emery can raise Tielemans’ performance levels, as he has done with almost every player in the Villa squad. Tielemans, who was the Man of the Match in the 2021 FA Cup final and scored the winning goal against Chelsea, could certainly prove to be an asset. At 26 years old, his best years should still lie ahead of him.
Having played both for Anderlecht and Monaco, before arriving to the Premier League, Tielemans also has 58 caps for Belgium to his name.
Tielemans will officially join Villa on July 1st, following the expiration of his contract with Leicester City.
UTV
