Aston Villa could reportedly consider terminating Leander Dendoncker’s contract if there continues to be a lack of interest shown in him this summer.
The 30-year-old joined us from Wolves in 2022 under former boss Steven Gerrard, but has gone on to make just 36 appearances for the club having had loan spells at Napoli and Anderlecht since.
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While it’s seemingly clear that he doesn’t have a part to play under Unai Emery, his contract with Villa still has a year left to run on it, and so a solution is being sought to suit all concerned.
According to Nieuwsblad, there has been no interest shown in the Belgian international this summer as he trains with the Villa U21s having been left out of the squad that travelled to the USA for our pre-season tour.
Further, although Villa would prefer not to as it will cost the club, they are said to be considering the option of terminating Dendoncker’s contract towards the end of August if there are still no offers on the table, with talks likely to take place between the two parties.
Albeit it would come with a financial penalty of sort by having to agree on a settlement to end his contract early, it seems like the right move from the club as opposed to covering his wages for another 10 months and being a drain on our resources.
What is clear is that there is no path back into the team for Dendoncker, with Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley all ahead of him in the pecking order in the deeper midfield pivot, while we have the likes of John McGinn and Lamare Bogarde who can operate there if needed too.
In turn, it was hoped that his form with Anderlecht last season would attract interest and earn him a permanent switch elsewhere, and while that failed to materialise and he remains a Villa player still, the club evidently feel as though they have to consider and pursue alternative solutions to get the desired outcome, and that’s moving Dendoncker’s wages off our books for the upcoming campaign.
It comes at a time when Villa are trying to manage the wage bill more efficiently in order to comply with UEFA’s SCR rules, and so the hope is that provided it doesn’t cost us too much to terminate his deal, it could give us a bit more financial flexibility when it comes to bringing in reinforcements this summer.
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