Despite hardly playing at Aston Villa, Leander Dendoncker remains in Belgium’s plans for the World Cup, but what part he plays remains a big question mark.
That’s because the midfielder, who can also help out in defence if needed, has struggled to find minutes under Roberto Martínez of late.
For example, the friendly before the World Cup against Egypt would have been a great time for him to get on the pitch, but his manager decided against it, leaving him on the bench.
Using the fact he could only make six substitutes as an excuse, Martínez looks less and less likely to give the Aston Villa man a chance during the tournament.
He appears to only be there because he’s versatile and could help out in an emergency, which is a far cry to the role he had just a few months ago, back in June, when he played all three games of the UEFA Nations League.
After that came the move to Aston Villa, and RTBF explain that his situation then ‘turned into a grey area after his transfer’ during the summer transfer window.
His playing time at Villa Park has been ‘too low’, with only three starts, and while that has improved a bit under Unai Emery (played the whole 90 minutes in the 3-1 win over Manchester United), it hasn’t been enough to convince his national team manager.
All in all, his situation is ‘paradoxical’, and has seen himself supplanted by 19-year-old Zeno Debast just before his second World Cup.
