Aston Villa’s Leander Dendoncker has been on loan at Anderlecht since the summer and they have an option to make his stay permanent.
The Belgium international played 28 matches this season and hasn’t fully convinced the Jupiler Pro League club so far. On December 24th, Voetbalkrant said there are serious doubts over Anderlecht exercising the purchase clause.
A day later, Anderlecht manager David Hubert stated he’d stripped the captaincy from the 29-year-old to take ‘pressure off’ him.
Gazet van Antwerpen had a chat with Anderlecht sporting director Olivier Renard, and he talked about the Aston Villa man.
They asked the official if he wants to see ‘more personality’ especially from experienced players like Dendoncker.
Responding to that, he said: “I think of Leander, yes. But he isn’t the only one: Dolberg, Rits, Foket, Hazard, Augustinsson… They also need to take more responsibility.”
“Dendoncker has played very little in recent years. We shouldn’t blame everything on him”
Last month, Anderlecht signed Cedric Hatenboer from Excelsior and sent the midfielder back on loan to the Dutch club until the end of this season. He operates in the same role as Dendoncker, who can also be deployed as a centre-back.
GVA state the Aston Villa owned player is aware staying at the Belgian club beyond this season will be difficult due to Hatenboer’s transfer. The sporting director has played this down.
“If he already thinks that, he is mistaken. Leander is a 38-time Rode Duivel. Of course, Hatenboer has to become an added value, and he will tighten the competition. But if our boys can’t handle that, they have to play golf. That’s not an issue as far as Dendoncker is concerned,” Renard explained.
The director also had a chat with Het Laatste Nieuws, relayed by Voetbal Primeur.
When asked about exercising Dendoncker’s purchase option, he said: “No, that decision hasn’t been made yet.”
