Aston Villa battled to a crucial 2-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League on the weekend and the victory keeps them ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United as the race for the fourth Champions League spot heats up.
Unai Emery relied on the brilliance of Ollie Watkins during the clash as he scored another brace, which took his tally to 18 for the season. With more than three months left of the campaign, the Englishman could potentially break through the 30-goal barrier.
Villa did secure the win without being able to call upon Boubacar Kamara, however, as the Frenchman suffered a serious injury against the Red Devils recently.
Boubacar Kamara’s injury woes
The former Marseille midfielder was emerging as one of Emery’s key men on the pitch, working well alongside Douglas Luiz in a solid midfield duo.
Against United, though, the 24-year-old tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
“We've had two injuries for a long time, for all the season, with Buendia and Mings,” lamented Emery after the match.
"Now it's the same for Kamara. Maybe, more or less, in September or October he is coming back."
It is a big blow for the club and while Luiz and John McGinn formed the midfield pairing on the weekend, Emery could unleash one of his summer signings to a new role within the side, as a defensive midfielder next to the Brazilian gem.
Youri Tielemans could move back to partner Douglas Luiz
The Belgian midfielder has not exactly enjoyed the most productive of starts to his Villa career, starting just seven Premier League matches under the Spaniard.
While he has registered five goal contributions in the top flight – one goal and four assists – the 5 foot 9 whiz has often been deployed across a whole host of positions, including as a centre-forward, attacking midfielder, and even as a left-winger on one occasion, with only one top-flight minute played as a defensive midfielder.
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Last season for Leicester City, the 26-year-old played 23 times as a central midfielder and scored four goals along with grabbing an assist, proving that he can be effective from a slightly deeper position.
Despite the Foxes being relegated last season, Tielemans ranked highly among the squad on a range of metrics, including second for big chances created (ten), fifth for key passes per game (one), fourth for successful dribbles per game (0.8) and accurate passes per game (41.2), indicating that he was one of their finer performers during what turned out to be a poor season.
This shows that he has the ability to play, and excel, as a deep-lying midfielder in the Premier League, rather than as an attacking midfielder or winger, and that is why he could be unleashed in a new permanent role for Villa now that Kamara is out for the remainder of the campaign.
Lauded as “incredible” by talent scout Jacek Kulig in 2019 as he reached nearly 300 senior matches despite being only 22, the £150k-per-week dynamo could forge a solid partnership alongside Luiz in Kamara’s absence.
McGinn would thus be moved out to the left-hand side of the midfield, and it could allow Emery to start Watkins and Moussa Diaby up top in a 4-4-2 formation.
Filling in for the injured Frenchman could perhaps give the midfielder a new lease of life in a new role as a defensive midfielder for the side in the Premier League and begin to show his true talents, which he has yet to display whilst donning Villa colours.
Losing Kamara is a mighty blow, but if Emery can bring the best out of Tielemans in his absence, it could well be a blessing in disguise.
