Aston Villa head into the latest international break in a positive head space.
Unai Emery’s side have only lost one game in all competitions, but he is still well aware that there is a lot to do.
In truth, this break has come at the right time for Aston Villa because it allows the injured players – and there are a lot of them – to rest up, recuperate and recover ahead of more gruelling fixtures.
Aston Villa have had to deal with a lot of injuries since the start of the campaign, with Boubacar Kamara a long-term absentee, whilst John McGinn has missed the last few weeks and Amadou Onana was absent for the draw against Manchester United.
It has meant that Emery has been forced to chop and change quite a lot, but one man has remained a constant – Youri Tielemans.
Speak to some Villa fans and they will tell you that he has probably been the team’s best player during the early stages of the new season.
It’s not just his ball-playing ability, quality from set plays or controlling matches, but it’s his defensive work off the ball that has been outstanding too.
You always expect the Manchester City players to be topping the attacking stats in the Premier League because of the sheer quality in which Pep Guardiola’s side attack with.
But Tielemans is standing tall in one impressive stat during the early stages of the season and it shouldn’t be a surprise to the fans.
The Belgian has completed 69 passes into the final third this season – only Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji has completed more, as posted by Aston Villa Statto on Twitter.
Added to that, he has also created the most chances from any Villa player (12), with Morgan Rogers the only other player in double figures.
Plus, as WhoScored pointed out, Tielemans has made the most entries (92) in the final third than any other player in the Premier League – once again, proving his importance to the side.
Youri Tielemans’ dominance in the final third for Aston Villa
Youri Tielemans has been a brilliant signing
It needs to be remembered that Villa signed Tielemans on a free transfer last summer when Leicester City were relegated.
Amid all these midfield players going for £100 million+, here are Villa and Unai Emery paying zilch for a player who is now starring for them in the Champions League.
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Not only that, with Tielemans only turning 27 in May, you just know that he is going to get better and better.
Given the environment that Emery has built at Villa, you don’t see any reason why the one-time FA Cup winner can’t go from strength to strength.
