Orel Mangala of Nottingham Forest and Youri Tielemans of Aston Villa are’moving towards a duel’ in Belgium.
According to Sud Info and journalist Guillaume Raedts, a fight between the two to play alongside Everton’s Amadou Onana in midfield seems unavoidable.
This week, Mangala and Tielemans’ alleged rivalry was first brought up, despite the Nottingham Forest player’s adamant denials to the contrary when questioned about the subject.
But in actuality, multiple players are vying for a single spot on the team, and Domenico Tedesco must decide what’s best for his team.
Although youthful Mandela Keita is also in the team, according to Sud Info, his inexperience and lack of playing time make him unlikely to be the starter. Therefore, the lads from Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are “moving towards a duel” in this country.
In terms of Tielemans, he has ‘enough of experience’ at the international level under his belt with 64 caps, which ranks fourth in the current group.
The national team, where he has never been able to perform at his best, is where he has been carrying the past few months or perhaps years “like a burden.”
He has undoubtedly battled with their pressuring and generally had a “hard time” against some of the bigger teams.
Meanwhile, Mangala has ‘definitely scored points’ since Tedesco’s arrival, particularly in the victory over Germany in Cologne.
He possesses the desired “physical dimension” for Belgium’s manager, and when used in that capacity, he has been an effective partner for Onana. Those factors would appear to place him ahead of Tielemans for the time being.
There is also the possibility of using all three in a new system, but as of right now, that hasn’t happened and it appears Mangala and Tielemans are engaged in conflict, despite the latter’s denials.
