Aston Villa midfielder Leander Dendoncker was included in our 26-man squad for our pre-season tour in the USA, but as of now, he has been absent in all updates shared by the club.
Villa have regularly posted on social media since the squad arrived in Washington, but whether it was the arrival photo or images from our first training session, there was no sign of the Belgian midfielder despite being included in the squad.
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Speculation this summer has linked him with an exit with Fabrizio Romano reporting we’re open to listening to offers, and so there was perhaps reason to believe that although he was initially included in the travelling group, there might have been developments over his future which ultimately led to him staying behind.
However, the 28-year-old has now revealed the reason behind his absence, as he posted on Instagram to confirm the birth of his son, and so that will likely have made him alter his plans and fly out to join the squad at a later date.
It’s unclear at this stage as to when Dendoncker will travel Stateside, or if he will instead now continue to work at Bodymoor Heath until the squad return at the end of the month.
Villa face Lazio and Valencia before our Premier League campaign gets underway against Newcastle Utd on August 12, and so those two outings could give the Belgian international an opportunity to get minutes if he does end up missing the entire trip.
Dendoncker made 26 appearances for Villa last season as he proved to be a valuable member of the squad to offer cover and competition when needed, and so despite the question marks over his future, he could still have an important part to play for us this year as we look to compete on multiple fronts.
While congratulations are in order for his great personal news, it remains to be seen if we’ll see him in action in our upcoming pre-season friendlies in the next week, or if he’ll maintain his fitness at the training ground and await their return.