Aston Villa midfield trio Leander Dendoncker, Morgan Sanson and Marvelous Nakamba have been linked with leaving the club this summer.
Villa acted swiftly this week to secure our first signing of the summer, with the club confirming that an agreement has been reached with Youri Tielemans to sign him on a free transfer on July 1.
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The Belgian international’s arrival adds quality competition and depth, as he’s a good fit for Unai Emery’s style of play and with his experience and ability combined with the fact that he’s still only 26 years of age and was signed on a free transfer, it makes the move seem like a very smart piece of business.
With John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey forming a fundamental part of the side last season in our successful run under Emery, Tielemans will now hope to break into the XI or at least still play a significant role as we target progress in the Premier League and silverware both domestically and in Europe.
However, it will also raise question marks on those that perhaps now fall further down the pecking order, and according to The Athletic, three clubs are said to be interested in acquiring Dendoncker’s services this summer, while Villa will now look to move on both Sanson and Nakamba.
Dendoncker, 28, made 26 appearances across all competitions last season, and for the most part, he proved to be an important depth option to fill in and do a job for us when needed.
While there were personal reservations over his ability to adapt to Emery’s demands and style, the Belgian midfielder largely impressed, and given the number of games we hope to play next season, he could be a useful option to have.
That said, Emery will have clear ideas of what he wants in his squad and by clearing the decks so to speak with this trio potentially moving on, it perhaps makes space for others to arrive that are considered a better fit by the Spanish tactician, or it could even give youngster Tim Iroegbunam a clearer pathway to be more involved after his positive loan stint at QPR last year.
Both Sanson and Nakamba enjoyed productive loan spells in the second half of last season, and so whether it’s a return to Strasbourg and Luton Town respectively or not, they should both have a market this summer if it is indeed the end of their time with us.
It had been felt that Sanson had the attributes and characteristics to suit what Emery is trying to implement at Villa, but if he believes it’s time for him to move on, it will likely be the right decision for all concerned.