Aston Villa have confirmed that midfielder Leander Dendoncker has joined Napoli on loan for the rest of the current season.
The 28-year-old has played a limited role so far this campaign, featuring 15 times across all competitions, with many of those restricted to appearances off the bench as he’s had just 395 minutes of football.
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As per the club’s statement, the Belgian international will spend the rest of the season on loan at Napoli, and so it’s hoped that the agreement is the best solution for all concerned.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Serie A giants will cover Dendoncker’s salary for the duration of the deal, and there is a €9m option to buy included in the agreement which could be exercised in the summer.
With that in mind, shifting Dendoncker’s wages for around six months will be an important financial boost, and if he impresses in Italy, Villa may well pocket a decent transfer fee for a player that has a bit-part role to play under Unai Emery.
That in turn can be reinvested into the squad or used to balance the books, while the Villa boss made it clear in his press conference on Thursday that he is ready to show faith in Tim Iroegbunam to step up and fill that void for the rest of this season at least.
Dendoncker offered an important option as a defensive midfielder, and so it’s a blow to lose that depth as we continue to compete on multiple fronts with the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa Conference League.
However, given his limited playing time and the likes of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans being preferred in central midfield when either Douglas Luiz or Boubacar Kamara were absent, it showed that perhaps the Villa boss didn’t trust the Belgian midfielder as much as he needed to in order to give him more opportunities.
In turn, it feels as though this is a sensible move for all concerned, but it’s hoped that Iroegbunam steps up and delivers to ensure we have enough cover, and the level of quality is high enough to ensure we continue to progress and stay on course to achieve our objectives this year.
