Credit: Getty Images

James Barker

Sat 4 April 2026 8:10, UK

Leander Dendoncker isn’t having a great debut season with Real Oviedo since leaving Aston Villa.

The 30-year-old midfielder joined Villa all the way back in the summer of 2022, arriving from Midlands rivals Wolves.

A 32-cap Belgium international, he started only nine of his 24 Premier League appearances during his debut 2022-23 campaign at Villa Park.

Unfortunately, he was never quite able to be evolve into anything larger than a backup role in B6, despite having been a key player for Wolves in the Premier League prior.

So, after loan spells with varying success with Napoli and Anderlecht respectively, Aston Villa decided to move Dendoncker on a permanent transfer to Real Oviedo last August.

How has Leander Dendoncker performed for Real Oviedo?

Dendoncker reportedly earned £90,000 per week at Aston Villa, so moving him on made a lot of sense for the Villans.

Indeed, that was a significant wage packet to have on the wage bill given the Club’s well-documented financial challenges, especially for a backup player.

Newly-promoted La Liga outfit Real Oviedo decided to take a chance on the central midfielder, and swooped in to secure his signature from Villa.

It looked a shrewd acquisition for the Spanish top flight newboys, however, Dendoncker hasn’t quite been able to show his pedigree and class for them this season on a consistent basis.

He’s made 19 La Liga appearances this season, starting 15 of them, but hasn’t kicked a ball since 21 February and is currently out injured.

As per Sofascore, he’s registered an expected assists (xA) of 0.46, averages just 0.3 key passes per game, has a passing accuracy of 86 per cent and has been dribbled past 0.9 times per game.

He’s also made two errors leading to shots, given away one penalties, won 53 per cent of his ground duels and has recorded just 0.6 interceptions per 90 respectively.

How are Real Oviedo doing in La Liga?

Being a newly-promoted side, Real Oviedo were always expected to struggle in La Liga this season.

That’s been the case for them too, as they currently sit rock-bottom in 20th with 21 points to their name, having won just four games so far this term.

So, this has to enter the context of Dendoncker’s individual struggles for the Spanish outfit, but a player of his domestic and international pedigree would’ve hoped to have a larger impact for them.

Should Oviedo indeed go down this season, then that may well be that for Dendoncker’s career in a top European league, as he’s probably not done enough to warrant another move to a top division.

Dendoncker remains one of the more disappointing signings in Villa’s recent windows, but many Villa fans feared that would be the case due to him being signed from one of their bitter rivals.