Leander Dendoncker, a midfielder for Aston Villa, has reportedly accepted an offer from Napoli, and is now close to joining the Italian team, according to HITC Football.
Leander Dendoncker, a Belgian midfielder, signed a £13 million contract to play for Villa Park in the summer of 2022, but since then, things have not gone as planned for the player.
Due to his lack of playing time for Unai Emery’s team this season, a January departure from the club is likely, as Napoli has accepted their offer for the Belgian.
Burnley and Sheffield United of the Premier League were interested in the Belgian midfielder, and he turned down a chance to sign a loan with the Italian powerhouse.
Details of deal
HITC Football also understands that Napoli do have the option to make the loan deal permanent but that clause included is not a mandatory one. It will most likely be based on how he does in Serie A, if he performs well, it’s likely that the Italian giants will make the deal permanent.
Napoli had previously shown an interest in Dendoncker’s fellow countryman Oriel Mangala at Nottingham Forest, although it now remains to be seen if they want both Belgians.
Mangala has looked promising since his move to Forest from VFB Stuttgart for £12 million last summer but it looks like Dendoncker will be the man Napoli opt for.
Dendoncker’s struggles
The 28-year-old has started one Premier League match this season, the 3-2 defeat at Manchester United when Boubacar Kamara was serving a ban.
Ironically, that defeat to the Red Devils was his first and only goal he netted for the Midlands club and now a move away from Villa Park is in the offing.
Formerly of Wolves and Anderlecht, the midfielder looked promising during his time in the Black Country but has struggled for consistency at Villa Park due to his inconsistent game time.
He has made a total of 36 appearances since joining Villa from Wolves during the 2022 summer transfer window. It’s unclear how much the option to purchase Dendoncker would be but his time at Villa Park is coming to an end.
