Transformed Aston Villa signing now Unai Emery's key man after sticky start

Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans didn't have a seamless start to life at the club but he's become a key fixture in the side

An eye-catching free summer signing, Youri Tielemans had to be patient upon arrival at Aston Villa. Sold the 'project' by Unai Emery, after leaving Leicester City following their relegation to the Championship, there was lots to like from a Villa point of view - an international footballer, only 26, with Premier League experience, a proven talent who had possessed a track record of winning and playing at the highest level.

Still, Villa weren't exactly crying out for midfield reinforcements, as much as Tielemans' addition was a welcome one with the Europa Conference League campaign complementing Villa's domestic season but clearly demanding a deeper squad. Emery had inherited Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara, while he was also moulding Jacob Ramsey and had created a new role for captain John McGinn.

Tielemans wasn't a certainty in the starting XI upon arrival, as he had been at Leicester. For a player who was used to routinely playing week in, week out, that took a little adjustment. During those opening months of the season, as Tielemans waited for his first league start, he was quoted in the Belgian media during the autumn international breaks as suggesting he had already become restless.

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"The situation is not pleasant. I told the manager that I came to Villa to play," he was quoted as saying at the time. "He understands me, but at the moment, he prefers to play with the two midfielders from last season.

"He told me that soon, there will be a succession of games and I’ll get more playing time. I know that answer doesn’t get me anywhere, but what should I do? As soon as I get the opportunity, I want to take it. So far, I’ve started once, in the Conference League."

Requiring depth in numbers and also in quality, when you're battling on multiple fronts at home and in Europe, can often be a tricky test for managers. While Emery has all the experience of handling high quality footballers imaginable, eyebrows were raised in those opening weeks - suggestions of a player being unsettled in what was meant to be an enjoyable adventure of a campaign weren't welcome.

Tielemans got his break against Fulham, in November of last year, after 11 consecutive Premier League substitute appearances. He retained his place, but the Belgian was frustratingly ruled out for a number of weeks following because of a calf problem. An extended opportunity arrived, however, in February following the misfortune of Kamara, whose season was ended by an ACL injury.

Tielemans grabbed the initiative and started nine of ten games between February and April, operating alongside Luiz who was utilised deeper in the absence of the more defensively minded Kamara. Tielemans, struggling towards the end of the campaign, played through the pain barrier to score against Liverpool and haul Villa over the line in their pursuit of a top four finish.

Emery had slowly moulded Tielemans into his side to great effect. He explained last season: "I spoke with him a lot about his positioning on the pitch and his role in the squad. His adaptation is progressively getting better and his adaptation is as well understanding and always helping the team and the players. He is very professional and he has experiences here because he wants to do one step ahead in his career through Aston Villa.

"He is very honest and he knows at the beginning he wasn’t playing feeling good and sometimes as well the adaptation in another position is a lot bit more difficult. It was not easy. He is very honest and he knows at the beginning he wasn’t playing feeling good and sometimes as well the adaptation in another position is a lot bit more difficult. It was not easy.

"The players who signed in the summer, they need a process and one of them is Youri Tielemans. With the quality he has and the high commitment he is showing, it is easier."

That was a promising note to end his first campaign at the club on, a campaign which hadn't been without its troubles early on, but which are firmly behind him right now. Perhaps it's because of the absence of Kamara, the sale of Luiz, the pre-existing understanding of the game of summer import and compatriot Amadou Onana, with who he complements, but Tielemans has hit the heights so far this term which were expected of him upon arrival.

His role in the middle of the pitch has proved vital; always on hand to receive the ball, sometimes in impossibly tight areas, Tielemans' decision making, ball retention and accuracy of pass at a tempo is first class. He has grabbed the opportunity for a run in the side with both hands and, having shared concerns over selection last year, he recently showered Emery with praise in how he has transformed his game since joining the club.

"It was one of the reasons I signed here," he said last month, before scoring against Young Boys in the Champions League. "The manager was selling me this idea of Champions League and I really bought into. It was one of the reasons why I signed. The fact that we got Champions League after my first year here, probably earlier than expected, means we're doing well and we need to carry on in this way.

"He [Emery] improves you as a player. His tactical analysis of the game is just first class and he can really sell it to you. He told me about the project. The fact he can do that on the footballing stage is what we want as footballers. That's what's really exciting about him.

"He's changed a fair bit since he's been at the club. For me personally, he has improved me a lot as a player and a man. I understand the game even better than before. We've seen so many times how important his tactical tweaks are, before games, during games."

Arriving with a reputation of being a classy footballer which experience and talent aplenty, Tielemans has moved to even another level this term and his metronome midfield role means he has become an integral member of Emery's side which is routinely putting opponents away at home and abroad.

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