Just when he thought he was out, Aston Villa’s Leander Dendoncker could find himself very much back in at Anderlecht.
That’s at least if Voetbalkrant’s latest is anything to go by as they lavish praise on the midfielder for a surprising performance for the Belgian midfielder.
For those out of the loop, Dendoncker has been on loan at Anderlect from Aston Villa since the summer and the deal includes an option for them to make it permanent.
However, he’s very much failed to impress, and recent reports have made it clear that they won’t be taking up that option to get him.
This was seen as something of a disaster scenario for Dendoncker, who is also not wanted by Aston Villa. The suggestion was that he may be forced to drop into the Championship in the summer to get back on track.
All hope is not lost, though, as Voetbalkrant report he was the best player in purple and white on Sunday against Genk. That is something few would have predicted given how the rest of the season has gone for the Aston Villa man.
This led to praise from coach Besnik Hasi, who was ‘encouraging’ throughout the match and praised the Aston Villa loanee afterwards, despite believing there is more to come from him.
Hasi knows Dendoncker well having ‘stimulated his development’ when the midfielder was first coming through at Anderlecht back in 2014. He saw ability in him and backed him, something that paid off at the time.
Now he’s getting more from him again and the feeling is that his arrival may be exactly what the Aston Villa man needs to turn his season around. Voetbalkrant even say he was more talkative and motivated when doing post-match interviews.
Hasi is certainly backing him and ‘wants to make him his lieutenant’. Whether he succeeds remains to be seen given the loanee has been ‘remarkably low’ this season and earned criticism from far and wide because of it.
This latest performance was a sign of hope, though, and the resurgence of Kasper Schmeichel at the club after a rocky start shows its possible.
If the same happens with Dendoncker, which would require a fair amount of optimism, then the club might consider sitting down with Aston Villa to discuss a permanent transfer again, albeit at a reduced cost. That would be a remarkable turnaround given a week ago it was doom, gloom and very much over.
