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Former Premier League defender Stephen Warnock wants to see more from an Aston Villa midfielder.
Warnock, who played 101 times for Villa between 2019 and 2013, believes Youri Tielemans is not at a high enough level for the club to properly compete in the Premier League and Champions League.
This is despite Tielemans being widely regarded by supporters as one of the players of the season so far. The Belgian may not be the quickest but his ability to escape the press on the half turn and pick out passes through the eye of a needle make him technically excellent.
Warnock agrees that Tielemans has quality but he reckons Villa could do with a more physical player in the centre of the park. "Villa’s midfield just doesn’t seem to be athletic enough at the moment,” Warnock told BetMGM.
“I look at Tielemans and I just don’t think he is near the level they need him to be at to compete in the league and in Europe. I like him as a player, but I think if you want to go to that next level you need players to contribute in all elements of the game.”
Former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock wants to see more physicality from Youri Tielemans.Former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock wants to see more physicality from Youri Tielemans.
Former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock wants to see more physicality from Youri Tielemans. | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Unai Emery certainly disagrees with Warnock as he has started Tielemans in every single Premier League and Champions League match so far this season. Villa haven’t quite been at the level of last campaign but they remain in the top-seven fight and are in with a great chance of progressing in Europe.
Tielemans’ attacking output hasn’t exactly been poor, either, as the 27-year-old has scored one and assisted five in 20 appearances across all competitions. Having a 74-time Belgium international on the books surely cannot be seen as a negative, especially as he cost nothing.
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