Leander Dendoncker has one year remaining on his Aston Villa contract
Aston Villa are reportedly considering terminating Leander Dendoncker’s contract.
Such a termination would require Dendoncker’s agreement, but there has been little interest in the midfielder so far this summer.
Dendoncker did not travel with the first-team squad to the USA, which suggests that Unai Emery sees no future for him at Villa Park.
The Belgian has one year remaining on the contract he signed in January 2022, when he joined Villa from Wolves.
According to Nieuwsblad, Villa hope to reach an agreement with Dendoncker to mutually terminate his deal around the end of August.
However, the club would prefer to avoid this route and instead sell him for a small fee.
Anderlecht passed up the option to sign Dendoncker permanently after he spent last season on loan at the Belgian Pro League side. He made 43 appearances for Anderlecht but struggled for consistency under David Hubert.
“That I no longer fit into the plan at Villa is a bitter pill to swallow, but also something I have to accept,” Dendoncker told Het Laatste Nieuws in May. “Villa is doing very well, with an incredible manager who I can’t say a bad word about. He is the best coach I have ever worked with.
“I have one more year of contract. I’m going back to England in the summer and then we’ll see. In terms of stability, it’s not ideal. Certainly not with two small children. It’s not pleasant. I have just turned 30. That’s when you start thinking about what you’re going to do after your career.
“I still have a few years ahead of me. I want to end in style and not regret anything. I want to feel good and wanted, by a club and a project, as a player and as a person and preferably no more loans.”
Dendoncker has made 36 appearances for Villa in total, last featuring in the 1–0 FA Cup win at Middlesbrough in the 2023/24 season.
He spent the second half of that campaign on loan at Napoli, who also chose not to exercise their option to sign him permanently.
Villa have already terminated one player’s contract this summer, with Philippe Coutinho departing to join Vasco da Gama on a free transfer.