On Tuesday, we covered an article in Belgium looking at Roberto Martínez’s decision to include Leander Dendoncker in his squad for the World Cup despite the midfielder not playing that much in England.
The player transferred from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer, and it was expected that he would be used by Steven Gerrard.
That wasn’t really the case, and while Dendoncker did feature for Aston Villa under Unai Emery against Manchester United in the Premier League, it remains to be seen whether or not that continues in the long-term.
There’s no denying that Martínez decided to include the 27-year-old for his versatility, and it appears that the Villa man will get to start in his country’s World Cup opener against Canada.
The news certainly comes as a surprise considering the player’s status at Aston Villa these days, and especially when Wout Faes, who has been in fine form for Leicester City since arriving in the summer, is also available.
The only reasonable logic behind this is that Martínez is going for experience rather than form for the first game of the World Cup, as Dendoncker has 29 caps to the Foxes star’s one.
