On Tuesday, Leander Dendoncker’s move to Napoli from Aston Villa came out of the blue, as the Serie A side struck a quick deal to sign the Belgium international on loan.
The Italians initially looked intent on getting Orel Mangala from Nottingham Forest, but seemingly turned their attention to the Villans midfielder.
It was done so quickly that even Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday are a bit surprised about the move for the Aston Villa player, explaining it was sorted ‘with a blitz worth of a showman’ like Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Described as a ‘coup de theatre’, the deal for Dendoncker makes a lot of sense on paper, as there is a need for Napoli to reinforce their midfield until the end of the campaign.
What helped is that the player wanted ‘a change of scenery and a new challenge’, which meant that an agreement with Aston Villa was reached fairly quickly.
A move to Napoli is ‘the opportunity he was looking for’, and there is even a chance he could be included in Walter Mazzarri’s plans very quickly considering their desperate need for men in the centre of the pitch.
They add that Dendoncker was expected on Wednesday morning in Rome to undergo his medical and sign his contract for a loan deal that should have an option to buy of around €10m attached to it.
