Aston Villa have confirmed that midfielder Leander Dendoncker has left the club to join Real Oviedo in a permanent exit.
The Belgian international joined us from Wolves in 2022 under former boss Steven Gerrard, but went on to make just 36 appearances for the club.
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After falling down the pecking order following Unai Emery’s arrival, the 30-year-old was shipped out on loan to Napoli and Anderlecht, with all parties looking for a more permanent solution for his future away from the club this summer.
As per the official statement from Villa, Dendoncker has now sealed a permanent switch to Real Oviedo, and although they note that it’s for an undisclosed fee, it has been reported that there is no transfer fee involved.
While that would have been a bonus, this is still an important boost for Villa as it clears his salary off the wage bill at a time when Villa are looking to ensure we comply with UEFA’s financial regulations, as per our settlement agreement with them.
In turn, it’s hoped that not only does this move, along with the other outgoings that we’ve seen this summer, address those concerns, but it’s so important that it also gives us financial flexibility to go out and bring in reinforcements in the latter stages of this transfer window.
The squad does now look a little bit light in certain areas as we embark on what will no doubt be another gruelling campaign, during which we’ll hope to go on deep runs across four competitions.
While Dendoncker was never going to play a significant role this season, his departure will hopefully now allow the club to move on transfer targets to address other positions, with Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley giving us competition and depth in the midfield pivot, while the versatile duo of John McGinn and Lamare Bogarde can also give us alternatives if needed.
It’s a sensible move for all concerned and it’s undoubtedly a key boost for Villa to move Dendoncker on given he still had a year remaining on his contract, while he’ll now look ahead to a fresh chapter in his career and try to secure a prominent role with the La Liga outfit.
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