Aston Villa midfielder Leander Dendoncker is reportedly set to return to the club at the end of the season as he continues to struggle for playing time at Napoli.
The 28-year-old joined us from Wolves in September 2022, but he has played a limited role ever since having made just 36 appearances for the club.
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With the likes of Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn ahead of him in the pecking order, his situation didn’t change after the appointment of Unai Emery, and the Belgian international was subsequently loaned out to Napoli in January.
However, he has totalled just 21 minutes of playing time since the switch to Italy, and now according to Fabrizio Romano, Dendoncker is set to return to Villa in the summer as the Serie A giants won’t be triggering their €9m option to sign him permanently.
A change in coach in Naples was seemingly a key moment for Dendoncker’s loan spell, as it doesn’t appear as though he’s set to get much of a look in under Francesco Calzona, who replaced Walter Mazzarri last month.
It’s ultimately a disappointing update as given he’s unlikely to feature in Emery’s plans moving forward, with the Villa boss comfortable with his decision to allow him to leave in January, albeit temporarily, Villa would have been hoping that Dendoncker would go on to impress during his loan stint and secure a permanent exit.
That in turn would be the best outcome for the Belgian midfielder, but also for us, as selling him would help balance the books and allow Emery to continue to strengthen his squad with his own preferred options.
Not only is it a blow that Napoli are unlikely to exercise their option to buy, but with his lack of playing time, he hasn’t had the opportunity to impress other potential interested parties, and so it remains to be seen how his future looks in the summer.
Villa will surely still be keen to offload him, and so it’s hoped that a solution is found that suits all concerned as we continue to move in a different direction.