Summary Aston Villa's summer signing Youri Tielemans has struggled to find playing time and establish himself in the starting XI. Journalist Dean Jones has recently had his say on how the move has not panned out the way the Belgian star may have hoped. Despite Tielemans' frustrations, he remains hopeful that he will get more opportunities to play in the future.
Aston Villa have seemingly rediscovered their best form under Unai Emery following a mixed start to the Premier League season. Their last league outing against Brighton & Hove Albion was particularly impressive, as they ruthlessly pushed the Seagulls to one side, winning 6-1. The Midlands club then followed that up with a dramatic last-minute victory over Zrinjski in mid-week.
Emery will now hope to see his side's recent form continue, as he looks to guide the Villans to unprecedented heights in England's top flight. It hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows for those at Villa Park this season, however, with one particular summer signing struggling since completing his move, with journalist Dean Jones has delivered his verdict.
Who did Aston Villa sign in the summer?
During the summer transfer window, Aston Villa spent a reported €93m (£81m) on welcoming a number of additions to Emery's squad, such as Nicolo Zaniolo and Pau Torres. You can see their summer business in full below, via Transfermarkt.
Moussa Diaby
£48m
Pau Torres
£29m
Nicolo Zaniolo
Loan fee: £4m
Youri Tielemans
Free
Clement Lenglet
Loan
Signings such as Moussa Diaby and Torres have hit the ground running, but free signing Tielemans has struggled since making the summer switch.
Journalist Jones provided an update on Tielemans following his start to life in the Midlands, telling GiveMeSport: "I don't know if he misunderstood what his role was going to be at Aston Villa. I don't know whether the whole thing was missold to him.
"But my understanding is that he was, first and foremost, being brought in as a squad player who would have to earn his way into that starting XI because it's one of their strongest areas of the pitch.
"That's going to take time because there was no chance that Tielemans, if Villa were playing well, was going to walk straight into that team. That's his big problem."
Why is Youri Tielemans struggling at Aston Villa?
In seven Premier League games, Tielemans is yet to start at Aston Villa as he continues to struggle to make his mark under Emery, who has opted for the likes of Douglas Luiz and John McGinn over his summer signing. After making the move, one imagines that the Belgian would have been hoping to become a more regular fixture in a side gunning for a European place, but that simply hasn't been the case.
The former Leicester City man recently had his say on his struggle for game time, telling Belgian outlet La DH (via Birmingham Mail): "The situation is not pleasant.
"I told the manager that I came to Villa to play. 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 help me move forward, but what should I do? Whenever I have an opportunity, I want to take it. So far, I have started once, in the Conference League."
As such, it seems that it will take some time before we either see Tielemans become a Villa regular or become agitated over his lack of minutes.