Ian Wright has now admitted his surprise at some elements of Youri Tielemans’ excellent performance for Aston Villa against Fulham yesterday.
Wright was speaking on the BBC’s Match of the Day 2 and thought Tielemans had improved from his Leicester City days since joining Villa.
The pundit thought the midfielder looked strong and fit, and was proving to have a remarkable work-rate.
As well as praising John McGinn, Wright thought it would be difficult to keep Tielemans out of this Villa side.
He said: “McGinn magnificent, captain’s performance today but Tielemans as well – after leaving Leicester under a little bit of a cloud.
“Look at him there, he looks fit, and we know the quality he has got.
“But one of the things I didn’t realise was his closing down, I didn’t know he had so much about him, him and McGinn.
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“He was closing them down on the left hand side and then McGinn on the right.
“I’m seeing a lot in the way he is playing which I didn’t see at Leicester. He looks fit, he looks strong.
“He was somebody we were thinking Tielemans is a bit of a player, we didn’t see it towards the end of his time at Leicester, but now we are seeing it.
“It is going to be very hard to keep someone like him out of the team.”
Wright thinks Tielemans is now finding his feet at Villa
Of course, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Belgian since he joined Unai Emery’s project.
£17m Tielemans has often had to settle for a spot on the bench, such is the level of competition at the club these days.
And heading into the international break in fifth place, Emery is continuing to have a fantastic influence on his squad.
As well Tielemans, the likes of Lucas Digne have also taken their game to the next level.
Often doubted in the past, Digne is now a settled member of the back four keeping Alex Moreno on the bench.
And as Wright would probably suggest with Tielemans’ progress, a key part of Emery’s success has been owed to how well he’s improved players.
Of course, Villa’s fixture list will now continue to heat up following the international break.
And as well as games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, Unai Emery is relishing the chance to face Arsenal again.