Aston Villa to sacrifice exit-linked star as PSR concerns continue at Villa Park
Aston Villa’s summer transfer window has been dominated by their financial constraints.
The second city outfit will be desperately trying to strengthen their hand ahead of the upcoming campaign, after they missed out on Champions League qualification in agonising fashion last term.
Villa have faced issues with their PSR standing for several months now, as they bid to offset to spending that has helped them close the gap to the Premier League’s elite.
Pure profit sales will be like gold dust for Unai Emery’s side for the next few seasons, and they could now be about to sacrifice a player to cut their wage bill.
Villa ready to let Dendoncker leave for free ahead of contract expiry
Villa’s plans for Leander Dendoncker have taken a turn this summer after Anderlecht failed to take up their option to buy the Belgian at the end of his loan deal.
The midfielder joined the Villans from Wolves for a fee in the region of £13million back in 2022, but his contributions have been extremely limited since his move across the Midlands.
He has spent large parts of the last two campaigns out on loan, with Emery and Co. seemingly counting down the minutes until his contract expires next summer, as they continuous try and move the out-of-favour star out of the door.
However, Villa are now increasingly likely to cut their losses and allow the 30-year-old to leave for free this summer instead, according to Belgian outlet Voetbal Krant (25 July).
It is understood there are currently no potential suitors for Dendoncker, but the Villans are weighing up the option of terminating his contract in order to reduce their wage bill ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Anderlecht are thought to be extremely reluctant to take the midfielder back permanently, which has left Villa contemplating the idea of releasing him from his contract a year early in the final few weeks of this window.
Terminating Dendoncker’s contract should be a last resort for Villa
It has been clear for several years now Dendoncker has no future whatsoever at Villa.
He was initially a very promising player when he first moved to the Premier League, but his move to B6 proved to be the catalyst for a fairly rapid drop off in the quality of his performances.
| Club | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| Wolves | 153 | 11 | 5 |
| Aston Villa | 35 | 1 | – |
It is completely understandable that the Villa Park side are keen to do anything they can to get him off their books, but they must be patient and try to seek out another potential loan deal.
If they can find a club to shoulder the majority of Dendoncker’s wages once again this season, then it will allow them to release him without any compensation payment next summer.
Villa may be tempted to try and cut their losses on him right now, but it would be far more expensive to pay off the remainder of his contract than it would to sit tight until next summer.
Sign up for the Villa News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Aston Villa news sent straight to your phone.