Unai Emery comments pave way for Leander Dendoncker to play part in unexpected Aston Villa title charge
Aston Villa are into the knockout stages of a European competition and are firmly in the Premier League title picture at Christmas in a development nobody saw coming.
Even Unai Emery surely did not expect his first year or so at Villa Park to be as successful as it has been, having completely transformed the club since succeeding Steven Gerrard in October 2022.
The fixtures may be coming thick and fast on multiple fronts, yet Villa continue to find a way to grind out victories – three in a row now in the league after the dramatic turnaround at Brentford.
However, injuries and suspensions will likely have more and more of an impact as the season goes on, with Youri Tielemans the latest to be sidelined with a knock.
That will force Emery to make full use of his squad, which can only be good news for a fringe player such as Leander Dendoncker, who is having to pick up the occasional minutes here and there.
Speaking after the 2-1 win at Brentford, as quoted by Birmingham Live [18 December], Emery said: “When some injuries are coming and players are suspended, it’s important as well for players to train every day like Dendoncker. It is the moment for other players.”
Dendoncker was brought on for the closing stages of a feisty contest at the Gtech Community Stadium, replacing Jacob Ramsey in the middle of the park.
That was the Belgium international’s sixth league appearance of the campaign, each of those coming from the substitutes’ bench and totalling just 31 minutes on the field.
For context, only Bertrand Traore has been given fewer league minutes this season (10) among senior players still at Villa Park [WhoScored]. Because of those lack of minutes, it is difficult to truly compare Dendoncker to Villa’s other midfielders.
However, his pass-success percentage of 65 is the lowest of any Villa player, while only Traore (1.5) averages fewer than his 3.3 passes per game on average [WhoScored].
Perhaps it is fairer to instead use Dendoncker’s figures from last season, in which his pass-success percentage was 88.2, which is in line with the likes of Boubacar Kamara (89.8) and Douglas Luiz (88.5) this time around.
Dendoncker was often tidy in possession last season, in fact, as he completed 93 per cent of his short passes [FBref] – no Villa midfielder boasted a better return – and likewise his passing over what is defined as “medium” range (91.7 per cent).
When you factor in that only Jan Bednarek (2.73) averaged more blocks per 90 than Dendoncker (2.47) last season, the 28-year-old certainly has something about him.
In fact, that was on show in the 1-1 draw with Zrinjski Mostar last week when he completed 92% of his 77 passes and won two of his three aerial duels [Sofascore].
None of this is to say that Dendoncker will all of a sudden become a key player under Emery in this unexpected Premier League title challenge, but he has surely proved he is worthy of a chance when injuries and suspensions pile up.
Once that opportunity arrives, it is on the Belgian midfielder to ensure he grabs it with both hands.
In other Aston Villa news, an 83% player may force Emery into a rethink over the busy period.