Ty Bracey exclusive: Leander Dendoncker will ‘absolutely’ be useful for Aston Villa
We’re delighted to welcome Villa View host Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Leander Dendoncker is not the number eight that Aston Villa have needed in midfield but he will certainly be useful this year says Ty Bracey.
The former Wolves man arrived as a deadline day signing at the start of the month (1 September) to beef up a midfield that had been struggling for consistency.
And while he is excited to see the Belgian international in action Bracey doesn’t think he can come into the team straight away to face Southampton next week (16 September) after the XI that was so much better against Manchester City put in a strong performance.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News he said of how the 27-year-old will fit in: “It all depends on the shape that we play. Dendoncker coming in kind of makes me think we’re going to play a double-pivot in a 4-2-3-1 potentially with Dendoncker and [Boubacar] Kamara alongside each other in a defensive midfielder role.
“I’m excited to see him play to be fair. I didn’t watch too much of him at Wolves or pay a massive amount of attention, but he’s a big, physical player and that’s what we need on the pitch.
“Do I think he’s the number eight [we’ve needed]? No. But is he going to be useful at Villa? Absolutely.
“I should imagine he’ll be featured but the problem we’ve got in the next game is how do you change that XI that went toe to toe with Man City?
“It’s a really tough one so I don’t know if we’ll see him start next weekend but I think we’ll see him get some minutes that’s for sure.”
With Dendoncker and summer signing Kamara next to each other that should give the Villans a strong base to build from, and with a combination of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey ahead it should be a decent unit.
After the death of the Queen there will be no game this week to see how the newest arrival slots in and he will likely have to settle for a place on the bench with the previous XI sure to be rewarded with another start next time out.
If manager Steven Gerrard can settle on a preferred formation it should also give the players some continuity and help them relax into their roles which should help with performances as time goes on.
In other Aston Villa news, Philippe Coutinho has been left out of the Brazil squad.