Youri Tielemans is being showered with praise for his performance during Belgium’s 1-0 win over Serbia with the Aston Villa ace starting to find form again at the Premier League giants.
As reporter Romain Van der Pluym put it, in his column for DH Net, we might be starting to see the ‘real Youri Tielemans’ again.
Bit by bit, game by game, the Aston Villa playmaker is rediscovering the poise and the purpose which made him one of Europe’s most exciting young midfielders only a couple of seasons ago, the former Monaco man putting a dreadful end to his spell at Leicester City in the rearview mirror.
Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans back in form
It is only a couple of weeks since some in Belgium were urging Rote Duivels boss Domenico Tedesco to drop Tielemans from his squad, in favour of Royal Antwerp teenager Arthur Vermeeren.
But, as Belgium edged past Serbia on Wednesday night, Tielemans went some way to repaying Tedesco’s faith with a performance reminiscent of his King Power heyday.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the intensity that the former Anderlecht player put into his performance,” Philippe Albert, the former Belgium and Newcastle United ace, tells Sud Info.
“He has been going through a little hell since his transfer to Aston Villa. He is on the bench more often than he plays. At his age and given his status, he cannot afford to remain in the shadows any longer.
“He must play, and play well! Which was the case against Serbia. His service, notably for (striker Lois) Openda, was of a quality rarely seen these last two years.
“His return to form is obviously far from being confirmed, but he is on the right path.”
‘A quality rarely seen
Tielemans, who joined Aston Villa for free after Leicester’s relegation, finally made his first start under Unai Emery in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Fulham. There were signs of a mouth-watering understanding with John McGinn and Douglas Luiz.
That Serbia display, meanwhile, is another step in the right direction.
“The pace was slower, but he did deliver intelligent balls,” Anderlecht legend Jan Mulder tells VTM2. “You could see that he is a class player. The intensity in the first half was lacking, but the technicality was there.
“That is also the joy of football.”
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