As Aston Villa beat Southampton 3-0 at the weekend, elsewhere in the Premier League, Manchester City superstar Kevin de Bruyne was showing fans that he isn’t done at this level just yet.
He ran the show against Crystal Palace for City, scoring once, providing one assist and making four key passes in their 5-2 romp of Oliver Glasner’s side. However, the 33-year-old is set to leave City at the end of this campaign, with his next step currently unknown.
The Belgian has actually only played eight times against Villa, never losing when he’s played against the Midlands side, winning six times and drawing twice. De Bruyne has provided five assists against Villa in those eight games, but has never scored against them.
De Bruyne has insisted he still has plenty left to give elsewhere, stating, “I don’t know what is going to happen but I want to play on so we will see where I end up.”.
But if the midfield legend is to leave the Premier League, Villa could well be the team who have the heir to his throne.
How Unai Emery has crafted Aston Villa's midfield
Unai Emery has done a brilliant job at assembling one of the Premier League’s best midfield units, especially after losing Douglas Luiz in the 2024/25 summer transfer window, a player who was key for Villa in the 2023/24 campaign under the Spaniard.
However, the Villans were able to replace the Brazilian by making the big-money signing of Amadou Onana from Everton, joining the club for a fee of around £50m. He has been an inspired signing in claret and blue, scoring four times in 27 outings despite his position on the pitch.
He has been excellent alongside the likes of John McGinn – a goalscorer on Saturday afternoon – and Boubacar Kamara.
Of course, they also used Luton Town’s relegation to prise away Ross Barkley for a small fee, paying just £5m for the Premier League veteran.
But despite all of these signings, perhaps the best of the bunch this season has actually been someone who cost the club nothing. As it happens, he is slowly becoming Villa’s very own De Bruyne.
Aston Villa have found their answer to De Bruyne
De Bruyne has been one of the most creative players we’ve ever seen in not just the English top-flight but European football too. He will leave the Etihad behind in the summer, having posted a truly ridiculous 177 assists in Sky Blue.
So, who’s the creative marvel in the Villa side? Well, cast your minds back to the 2023/24 summer transfer window and the club signed their very own Belgian midfielder in Youri Tielemans on a free transfer after his contract expired at Leicester City.
Since joining the Midlands side, Tielemans has made 93 appearances, scoring six goals, providing 17 assists and totaling 6,759 minutes played.
Goals
0.08
0.31
Assists
0.19
0.35
xG
0.09
0.21
xAG
0.20
0.49
Progressive Carries
0.98
2.96
Progressive Passes
6.78
8.17
Key Passes
1.59
2.96
Shot-Creating Actions
3.29
5.97
Ball Recoveries
4.34
3.33
When comparing the two midfielders’ underlying metrics this season, you can see the disparity between the pair, mainly in terms of output.
However, considering De Bruyne is playing for Man City, who often dominate far more of the ball, Tielemans ranks very closely in many of the metrics, making 6.78 progressive passes per 90 for example, proving himself to be a creative outlet.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Tielemans has been showered with praise all throughout his time at Villa Park, notably this campaign, with analyst Raj Chohan labeling him as “one of the best midfielders in the world” this season. Considering he is still 27-years-old and entering his prime years, the best could still be yet to come for the Belgian.
So with De Bruyne on his way out, Tielemans could be the man to take the throne of the Belgian midfielder, dictating games with his brilliant passing range and adding even more goals and assists to his game.
He will do so at international level but perhaps he may also do so for a big European club in the future.
Emery struck gold on Aston Villa star worth more than Doue & Kvaratskhelia
Aston Villa made a brilliant investment with this player
ByJoe NuttallApr 11, 2025