Leander Dendoncker surely losing patience with Unai Emery at Aston Villa, bags must be packed for January exit already
Forgotten Aston Villa player Leander Dendoncker must already have his bags packed ahead of a possible exit in January.
Dendoncker has been an unfortunate afterthought at Villa Park and may well be considered no longer part of Unai Emery’s plans [Sacha Tavolieri, 16 November].
The 28-year-old former Wolves man appeared to be on his way out in the summer transfer window but stayed put as a move to Everton (Le Parisien, 1 September) failed to materialise.
Dendoncker is yet to start in the Premier League this season for Villa, with his only start coming once in the Europa League and has been restricted to four substitute appearances in the English top flight.
His only starts have come in the Carabao Cup and the Conference League where there has been little to suggest that Premier League suitors will be queuing up to sign him this January.
Against Everton in September, the Belgian was hooked off after 45 minutes having failed to win a single duel or tackle in the clash, while only two of his 26 passes were into the final third [Fotmob].
The ex-Wolves midfielder was a bit-part player last season too as he made just seven Premier League starts for both Steven Gerrard and Emery and was heavily linked with a move away from Villa Park all summer.
Turkish news outlet Takvim reported on 13 September that Dendoncker had been recommended to Fenerbahce as they desperately sought out midfield reinforcements before the Turkish transfer deadline on Friday 15 September, however, he remained at Villa Park and was surprisingly included in Emery’s 25-man squad [Birmingham Live, 13 September].
While that may have pointed to some involvement in the near future for Dendoncker, his squad status was still unclear, especially with the likes of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn Boubacar Kamara and summer signing Youri Tielemans above him in the midfield pecking order.
And the 28-year-old may be reeling at the sight of his Belgian counterpart Youri Tielemans thriving while he’s being left to rot on the bench by Unai Emery.
Villa’s latest clash – their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth – should have been his chance to start after Boubacar Kamara’s suspension but the Spaniard opted with Tielemans and Douglas Luiz in the middle of the park, a decision which may have proved costly with the visitors being overrun by their opponents on several occasions.
Such a decision will have certainly left Dendoncker losing his patience with the Aston Villa coach.
With still a few more weeks until the January transfer window, it remains to be seen when the Belgian international will feature for Aston Villa again and it will be little surprise to see his bags packed already ahead of an inevitable departure.
In other Aston Villa news, one Villan was twice branded “unbelievable” for what he did against Bournemouth.