Since arriving at Aston Villa, Youri Tielemans has developed into a key figure under Unai Emery. With interest elsewhere and contract discussions still unresolved, attention is beginning to turn towards what comes next for the Belgian midfielder.
Among all the transfer speculation surrounding Aston Villa this summer, one issue quietly sits near the top of the priority list.
Youri Tielemans.
The Belgian is arguably Villa's most important player. While others grab the headlines, Tielemans is the one holding everything together. His ability to dictate games, control possession and influence matches have made him indispensable to Unai Emery's side.
Which is why the comments from Jacob Tanswell on my 1874 Podcast were so interesting.
When discussing Villa's summer plans, Tanswell revealed there remains interest in Tielemans from elsewhere and that a contract decision will need to be made sooner rather than later.
"He'll have to either be sold or given a new contract in the next four or five months," Tanswell explained. That is simply the reality of modern football."
Tielemans currently has two years remaining on his deal after entering the final stages of the contract he signed when arriving from Leicester City. Villa are understood to want to keep him and discussions over a new contract have been spoken about for some time.
The problem is that Villa's financial position means nothing is straightforward.
Tanswell explained that several contract situations are effectively on hold while Villa wait to see how the transfer market develops.
The club know they need to sell players this summer and until that picture becomes clearer, committing to significant wage increases across the squad becomes difficult.
That is the frustration.
Villa have just won the Europa League and qualified for the Champions League, yet they find themselves unable to immediately reward one of their most important players with improved terms, a player that opened the scorer in said trophy win.
As Tanswell pointed out, Tottenham can spend heavily despite finishing well below Villa in recent seasons, while Villa remain constrained by financial regulations.
Nobody at Villa wants to lose Tielemans.
The player loves working under Emery and appears settled at the football club. Equally, Villa know replacing him would be almost impossible.
There are midfielders with greater athleticism. There are midfielders with more pace.
There are very few with Tielemans' intelligence.
The hope will be that once Villa's outgoing business becomes clearer, a new contract can finally be agreed. The contract stance seems to apply to Emi Buenida and Ezri Konsa as well. Although in Buendia's case, his relatively small salary compared to others makes a renewal easier.
Because while Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Martinez dominate the headlines, losing Tielemans would arguably create the biggest football problem of all.
