The Basics
Age: 26
Club: Free Agent
Nation: Belgium
Position: Central Midfielder
Footed: Right
Tielemans spent the first 15 years of his youth and professional football career at Anderlecht, making his first team breakthrough in 2013 and going on to make 185 appearances over four seasons.
He was twice named the Belgian Young Player of the Year and won the Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year award in 2016/17. The midfielder became the youngest Belgian to play in the UEFA Champions League, making his debut at 16 years and 148 days.
A transfer to Monaco for around £22million followed, where he spent 18 months before being loaned to Leicester City, who subsequently bought Tielemans in the summer of 2019 for an estimated £32million.
The midfielder scored the only goal in Leicester’s 2021 F.A. Cup triumph over Chelsea, and recently left the club as a free agent as they were relegated from the Premier League.
He has made 58 appearances for Belgium, scoring five goals, and is also of Congolese descent.
The Links
There have been no firm reports of Villa’s interest in Tielemans, but the club are a distant favourite with various bookmakers to sign him.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
Tielemans’ standout trait is his general technical ability.
He’s very neat and tidy in possession. His passing is easy and accurate, and this goes for longer and more difficult passes as well as short ones.
Tielemans ranks in the 87th percentile for progressive passes compared to Premier League midfielders since the 2018/19 season, as well as the 77th percentile for expected assists (xAG).
His first touch is reliable, and this combined with his passing proficiency allows for more intricate link up play in the final third.
The Belgian helps to retain possession by shielding the ball when under pressure and passing it off to be recycled. He always shows for the ball and keeps things ticking over.
If he finds himself out wide, he can whip dangerous crosses into the area. The midfielder is also happy to use both feet as needed.
He is capable of scoring spectacular goals, something that’s been evident throughout his career and is reflected in the stats. He ranks in the 69th percentile for non-penalty goals despite only ranking in the 54thpercentile for non-penalty expected goals (xG).
Defensively, Tielemans does his part and can be trusted. He tracks runners from midfield and looks to pass them off when possible. He quickly closes down attackers near his own goal and can also press high up the pitch to good effect. The effort is there to go box-to-box.
Tielemans can be physical in winning the ball back without giving fouls away, just nudging an opponent enough to put them off balance and steal the ball. He reads the game well and will step in front of opposition passes for interceptions.
Weaknesses
While the defensive work rate is there, Tielemans is not the type of midfielder to consistently break up play. His actions are more opportunistic, and he shouldn’t be confused for a defensive midfielder.
Tielemans isn’t necessarily a threat to go past opponents with the ball at his feet either. He’s not incapable, but it’s not really his game and there’s a lack of agility and mobility needed to regularly beat defenders.
For someone with his ball-striking ability, he doesn’t get in the opponent’s penalty area often enough. His goals come from distance rather than arriving in the box, and this is something he can add to his game.
Fit With Villa
Tielemans is closest in profile to Douglas Luiz of Villa’s midfielders, and that’s the role he would probably be used in.
That would mean not only being a competitor to Luiz in the current 4-4-2 system, but potentially lining up in a 4-3-3 alongside Luiz and Kamara if Unai Emery decides to use this formation more often going forward.
He’s a really nice technical midfielder with a well-rounded game, and his long-range shooting ability would be welcome. Tielemans isn’t necessarily a player Villa need, but on a free transfer, he’s absolutely a player any team would want.
Similar Players
The 10 closest statistical comparisons to Tielemans, according to FBREF, are:
- Ismaël Bennacer – A.C. Milan
- Himad Abdelli – Angers
- Nabil Bentaleb – Angers
- Dion Lopy – Reims
- Youssouf Fofana – Monaco
- Marc Roca – Leeds United
- Douglas Luiz – Aston Villa
- Mateo Kovačić – Chelsea
- Nicolás Domínguez – Bologna
- Santi Comesaña – Rayo Vallecano
Lopy is a player Villa have already been linked with, and Bentaleb, Fofana, Domínguez and Comesaña could be viable alternatives. Comesaña is also a free agent.
Transfer Targets Series
The Villa Ramble 
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