Youri Tielemans

Why this one matters.

“Youri Tielemans' 2023-24 Topps Chrome UEFA Club Competitions Superfractor 1/1 — the only copy in existence of his base card, captured in his very first season as an Aston Villa player. The gold vinyl superfractor wraps Tielemans in claret and sky blue, controlling the ball in Villa's BK8 home kit, the Europa Conference League crest marking the club's return to major European nights under Unai Emery. Hand-numbered 1/1, this is the end of the parallel ladder for card #108 — nothing rarer exists. Tielemans arrived at Villa Park as one of the most proven midfielders in the Premier League, a free transfer whose reputation was forged years earlier. A product of Anderlecht's famed academy, he debuted in the Champions League at sixteen and became, at the time, the youngest Belgian ever to play and score in the competition, before moving through Monaco and then Leicester City. It was at Leicester, in the 2021 FA Cup Final against Chelsea, that he wrote his name into English football folklore: a dropping ball, one touch, and a thunderous long-range strike into the top corner from 25 yards — the winning goal that delivered the first FA Cup in the Foxes' history, widely regarded as one of the greatest goals ever scored in an FA Cup final. He added the Community Shield against Manchester City weeks later. Capped by Belgium from the age of seventeen, he was part of the 2018 World Cup squad that finished third in Russia and featured at Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, a central pillar of the post-golden-generation midfield with his passing range and a habit of scoring spectacular goals — the exact trait the card back highlights. At Villa he became the experienced engine of a young squad charging back up the table and into Europe. A 1/1 superfractor from his debut season at a rising club, for a player with a Wembley final goal that will be replayed forever.”