Two problems Aston Villa must fix to repeat £50m boost
Youri Tielemans has laid out exactly how Aston Villa can at least match their domestic success of last season and qualify for the Champions League in consecutive seasons.
The Belgian has played a key role for Villa this campaign, starting all 21 Premier League matches and six Champions League games too. Villa currently sit three points off the top four, while they also occupy a position in the top eight of the Champions League.
But after being victorious in only four of their 11 league matches on the road this term, Tielemans admits Villa must improve their away form if they are to once again qualify for the Champions League, which guaranteed Villa at least £50m just for taking part this season. The midfielder also believes Villa haven't been able to fully recover from big Champions League nights in time for the following league game having only won one of their six such fixtures.
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"We realise we have to be more consistent in the league," Tielemans said on Villa TV. "Our away form needs to be better to be up there with the better teams in the league. In the Champions League we are doing really good and we have to keep that form up.
"Monaco will be a very difficult game. If we can at least draw or win that game then we will have a good chance for the top eight, even though the Celtic game is going to be massive.
"You feel really comfortable [at Villa Park]. You feel warm and like you’re ready to go. One point which we have to improve is that after those nights, after we play a big team in the Champions League and we have a game at the weekend, we’ve struggled. Maybe the atmosphere wasn’t as good, which is totally understandable, but it’s up to us as professional players to move on."
Tielemans joined Villa on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract act Leicester City in the summer of 2023. After a slow start last season, the Belgian now believes he is playing the best football of his career.
"There was a lot of interest," Tielemans said when asked about his move to Villa. "I was out of contract that summer and I had a few chats with different clubs. There were many options at the time. I wanted to be fixed before pre-season. I like to do pre-season with the club I am doing the season with.
"Aston Villa was more and more convincing. I had chats with the manager and board members. It went smoothly and I am happy with that. We had a chat about tactics, where the club is going and also the results that the manager was getting in a short space of time. He improved lots of players in a couple of months and I saw myself there. I saw myself in the project and so far, so good.
"The aim is to start games and play as many minutes as you can. The manager, from the first conversation until the last, was always explaining his plan and how I fit in the team."
Asked if he struggled at the start of last season, Tielemans admitted: "I did. I have been open about that. I accepted the situation because it was the only way to go forward and the manager in that period as well was always really calm and knew what was coming with me.
"He knew there was a process into integrating players. There was not much of a reason to change the team, so it was up to me to continue training hard on the training pitch and to perform.
"Especially from my time at Monaco, that didn’t go smoothly at the start either. So to have that experience, it helped me here at Villa just to know to keep working on my stuff and it will come in time."
