Aston Villa managed to average 52.8% possession last season, with Unai Emery’s side averaging an 85.6% pass accuracy across the 2023/24 campaign.
Since then, Villa have seen one of their most important midfielders leave the club, with Douglas Luiz joining Juventus for a fee of around £42.35m.
Luiz made 53 appearances for the club last season, scoring ten goals, providing ten assists, and totalling 4,353 minutes played.
However, Villa are well-equipped in this area of the pitch, signing a big-name replacement in Amadou Onana, whilst also acquiring Ross Barkley as extra depth, and having the likes of Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans already at the club.
It’s Tielemans who is really becoming a focal point of the team now.
Youri Tielemans before Villa
Tielemans came through the ranks in Belgium, playing for Anderlecht, making 185 appearances for the Belgian outfit, scoring 35 goals and supplying31 assists in 14,076 minutes played. His brilliant four years of senior football at the club earned him his first big move to Monaco in 2017.
The midfielder spent two years in the Principality, making 65 appearances for the French club, scoring six goals, providing three assists, and totalling 4,648 minutes played, before making his move to England, joining Leicester City for around £40m.
It was at Leicester that the Belgian really made a name for himself, making 195 appearances for the Foxes, scoring 28 times in all competitions, as well as producing 26 assists.
Tielemans’s market value in 2024
Aston Villa managed to coup the Belgium international on a free transfer in 2023, despite now boasting a transfer value of £27m, according to Football Transfers. The 27-year-old made 46 appearances for the club last season, scoring three goals, and tallying up seven assists.
This proved to be an excellent value deal, being a valuable asset to the side last season, and now seemingly a first choice for Emery, alongside new signing Onana, who are forming quite a partnership in the middle of the park, not just for club, but also for country.
Tielemans vs Onana comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats (per 90 mins) | Tielemans | Onana |
Goals + Assists | 0.63 | 0.50 |
Progressive Carries | 0.80 | 1.50 |
Progressive Passes | 6.20 | 2.50 |
Passes Attempted | 69.0 | 36.5 |
Key Passes | 1.60 | 0.50 |
Passes into Final Third | 9.40 | 2.75 |
Tackles | 3.00 | 2.00 |
Blocks | 0.80 | 0.25 |
Interceptions | 0.78 | 2.17 |
Aerials Won | 0.00 | 2.00 |
Stats taken from FBref | ||
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
Villa have found the perfect blend in midfield with this pairing, partnering a ground-covering monster like Onana, with a midfield controller such as Tielemans.
The precise passing qualities of Tielemans allow him to dictate the flow of the game for Emery’s side, whilst Onana’s duel capacity protects the slower Tielemans, especially in transition.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the worldwide astronomical rises and falls of player transfer values.
Premier League Panel on Twitter (X) even stated Tielemans is “underrated” now due to his lack of pace, praising his brains and IQ for the game.
His ability to pick passes from deep (shown with his 9.40 passing into the final third per 90) allow Villa to progress through the lines, and get their creators on the ball higher up the pitch.
Villa seem to have struck the jackpot yet again in the free transfer market, signing their midfield controller for £0, enabling them to spend big on the perfect partner for him, to now form one of the best midfield duos in the division.
