'Versatile' Tielemans the 'go-to guy' for Aston Villa

BBC News

a day ago

Of all the blizzard of statistics measuring Youri Tielemans' season for Aston Villa, this number particularly stands out.In the most competitive area of a squad growing in depth around him, Tielemans started 52 of Villa's 57 competitive games, more than anyone else except Morgan Rogers.Until a minor injury finally interrupted his season in May, Tielemans had started every game except the two Carabao Cup matches, for which Unai Emery made more radical team changes.In arguably the deepest high-quality squad in the club's history, Tielemans was the go-to guy."He's our best player by a mile this season," said John McGinn in a TNT Sports interview last month."His first year was a bit stop-start, but he's a huge player for us and he's versatile - he can play as a 10, eight or six."Tielemans' status at Villa has transformed over the past 18 months.After his arrival, he spent the first third of the Premier League season as a substitute. Then, after finally working his way into the first XI - starting both of the statement wins over Manchester City and Arsenal in December 2023 – a calf injury set him back for a month.But his status had been established, and once fit again, he was rarely left out."Last year was very important in how he adapted to us, and how he was understanding how we wanted to build with him," said Unai Emery in January."This year, he's playing consistently, again in different positions because he is a versatile player."That word again: versatile. There is room for specialists in an Emery squad, but he has depended most heavily on players like Tielemans, McGinn and Rogers - footballing Swiss Army knives he can deploy in different roles as the situation demands.Villa's two full seasons under Emery have run to 56 and 57 games and, given the Spaniard's record in Europe - and the Europa League in particular - they could easily match that total again in 2025-26.The strength of Villa's squad comes not only from depth, but flexibility.But Profit and Sustainability Rules are not flexible. Like last summer, at least one top-liner will surely have to go if Villa are to limbo under the PSR bar again.Tielemans' arrival as a "free" - in transfer-fee terms - would make selling him a profitable prospect.His record last season would command a significant fee. That same record, though, makes him perhaps the most difficult man in the squad to replace, and selling him the hardest to countenance.Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights