Aston Villa confirm midfielder exit after just 13 starts in three years
Villa have confirmed the exit of Leander Dendoncker with the midfielder joining Real Oviedo on a free transfer.
The Belgium international has departed after starting just 13 matches for Villa in all competitions, three years after moving across the West Midlands from Wolves for £13million.
Dendoncker, who made 36 appearances for the club in total, had last featured for Villa in a 1-0 FA Cup win at Middlesbrough in January 2024.
After spending the second half of the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Napoli, he was loaned to Anderlecht the whole of last season but the Belgian club decided not to trigger their option to buy him permanently.
Dendoncker, who had a year remaining on his contract at Villa Park, will now get the chance to revive his career with Oviedo, while Villa have been able to free up more space on the wage bill as they try to recruit late in the window.
Another player, Leon Bailey, is also on the brink of leaving on loan to Roma.
The Jamaica international arrived in the Italian capital on Tuesday afternoon to undergo a medical ahead of a season-long switch.
Villa will receive a loan fee of around £1.7m, with Roma having an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season for around £19m.
