Medical underway for Leander Dendoncker to quit Aston Villa, £7.7m agreement ‘sealed’ – Fabrizio Romano
Aston Villa midfielder Leander Dendoncker is completing medical tests before being unveiled as a Napoli player, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian transfer guru posted on his Twitter account (24 January) that the Belgian is in Italy completing medical tests before completing his move to the Serie A champions in an initial loan deal until the end of the season.
The deal looks all sealed with Aston Villa as the former Wolves midfielder’s salary will be covered in full by Napoli with a €9million (£7.7m) buy-out clause included in the deal.
Romano posted on his Twitter account: “Leander Dendoncker, completing medical tests as new Napoli player right now.
“Salary covered until June, €9m buy option clause — all sealed with Aston Villa FC.”
Could be costly
Dendoncker was never a regular under Unai Emery’s watch but when he did feature for the Villans, he certainly showed that he could be a capable understudy to Boubacar Kamara.
When the Frenchman was absent due to a three-game suspension, Dendoncker was the man Emery turned to when they needed a specialist defensive midfielder and the Belgian certainly didn’t let the Spaniard down.
However, there was a case to argue that Dendoncker was at a stage in his career where he needed to be playing every week and not sitting on the bench hence this loan move to Napoli.
Dendoncker’s wish to leave this month is understandable given his desire to play regularly to have any chance of being picked for the Belgian national team in this summer’s Euro 2024 but it does leave Aston Villa in the mud, selection-wise.
Should Kamara get injured or undergo another suspension, who does Emery turn to then? Fans will certainly argue John McGinn can play the role but when the Scotsman has featured there, its left the Villans well short both in attack and in screening the backline.
It remains to be seen whether Aston Villa will be on the market for a replacement before the transfer deadline because they certainly need a Kamara backup plan, especially with fixtures about to ramp up again next month and in March when the UEFA Conference League knockout stages kick-off.
Dendoncker’s decision to leave is the right for him, personally, but not so much as far as Villa are concerned.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton is delighted by one new John McGinn update out of Villa Park this month
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