Aston Villa are reportedly looking for a fee of around €10m to €12m in order to green light an exit for Leander Dendoncker this summer.
As per Fabrizio Romano earlier this week, it was reported that Villa were open to listening to offers for the Belgian international, despite having played an important role in offering depth last season.
READ MORE: Interest builds in Villa midfielder paired with summer exit
Dendoncker, 28, made 26 appearances across all competitions, but with the arrival of Youri Tielemans already this summer coupled with the expectation that Unai Emery will perhaps continue to bring in midfield reinforcements, the former Wolves man could find himself slipping further down our pecking order.
In turn, an exit could be the ideal outcome for all concerned, and according to FootMercato, Villa are said to be willing to accept offers between €10m and €12m, with Premier League and Serie A clubs said to be interested, as are Rennes and Nice.
Given there’s no suggestion that bids have submitted as of yet, it remains to be seen if an agreement can be reached to satisfy our touted demands, but with the Athletic reporting that we signed the Belgian midfielder for around £12.9m last summer, it’s hoped that we can recoup as much of that figure as possible with a sale.
It could be argued that keeping Dendoncker in the squad would be the sensible choice to offer competition and depth as we look to compete on multiple fronts next season, but time will tell whether Emery wishes to continue to stamp his mark on the squad and bring in players better suited to his ideas and style.
Further, from Dendoncker’s perspective, he will surely want to be more heavily involved moving forward, and if that isn’t going to be likely, then he’ll perhaps be keen on a more prominent role elsewhere himself, especially if competition for places increases.
As well as the Tielemans signing, Villa are expected to complete a move for Pau Torres next week, and it’s highly unlikely that our business this summer will end there.
After a relatively quiet January transfer window, this is Emery’s first big opportunity to mould the squad into his own, and coupled with the arrival of Monchi this month, there could be important changes ahead that result in the squad having a very different look.