End is now nigh for Leander Dendoncker at Aston Villa after Unai Emery snub v Sheffield United
Leander Dendoncker may now be just days away from an eagerly anticipated Aston Villa exit after another Unai Emery snub against Sheffield United.
The Villans missed the chance to go top of the Barclays Premier League table after they were disappointingly held to a 1-1 draw against the Blades at Villa Park on Friday (22 December).
Cameron Archer, sold by Villa to the Blades in the summer, stunned the hosts by opening the scoring in the 88th minute from close range but Chris Wilder’s men were pegged back by Nicolo Zaniolo’s equaliser in seven minutes of added time.
The result means Aston Villa go joint-top with Arsenal in the Premier League table but missed the chance to go two points clear and also saw their 15-game winning run at Villa Park come to an end.
Emery will certainly be disappointed by his side’s overall performance but rarely-seen midfielder Dendoncker will be angered by the Spaniard’s decision not to start him after comments he made during the week.
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.”
The Spaniard may well have hinted at the Belgian starting the match against the Blades with Boubacar Kamara suspended after his red card last weekend but Dendoncker was nowhere to be seen with John McGinn partnering Douglas Luiz – a decision which failed miserably.
Dendoncker could well have been the ideal candidate for the role with McGinn still in his left-wing role that had proven fruitful all season and the Belgian’s last start, against Zrinjski certainly suggested he could do a job for Villa.
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).
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 at 66 per cent [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 could well have been utilised last night.
But yet another brutal snub from his manager surely suggests his future at Villa Park will be over in January, with The Athletic journalist David Ornstein sharing (21 December that the club will be keen to offload him again after a move away failed to materialise over the summer (Le Parisien, 1 September).
With January now just days away, Dendoncker is surely now very close to packing his bags for good.
In other Aston Villa news, a star player has justified his British record price tag already this season.