The 30-year-old didn’t feature in pre-season as he’s not considered part of Unai Emery’s plans moving forward, while shifting his salary off the wage bill has become a priority this summer with the club pushing to comply with UEFA’s financial regulations as part of our settlement agreement.
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Having fallen out of favour following Emery’s arrival and been sent out on two loan moves, it’s been a struggle to offload the Belgian midfielder who still has a year left on his current contract, but it sounds as though Villa are now moving in the right direction.
According to [Matteo Moretto](https://x.com/MatteMoretto/status/1957155900709310836), an agreement has been reached between Villa and Real Oviedo to sign Dendoncker, albeit terms of that agreement haven’t been reported as of yet and so it remains to be seen if he’s simply leaving on a free transfer after terminating his deal, or if Villa will have to provide a pay-off of some kind to move him on earlier.
Naturally, it’s hoped that it’s the former option as it will save the club money, but details of the switch will no doubt come to light in the coming days, provided that Dendoncker is indeed closing in on a move to Spain.
With Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley available to play in our deeper pivot, as well as versatile options like John McGinn and Lamare Bogarde, there simply is no path back into the first-team squad for Dendoncker who doesn’t fit the system or style of play effectively enough to earn Emery’s trust, with Villa moving on Enzo Barrenechea this summer already.
In turn, it’s the sensible outcome for all concerned should it now materialise, and in the bigger picture, it’s hoped that it goes some way in helping us move closer to being in compliance with UEFA’s SCR and financial rules, which continue to be a major talking point this summer after addressing our PSR concerns earlier in the off-season.
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