Everton 'watching on' as Aston Villa player ‘burns his bridges’ and won’t play for Unai Emery again

The Belgian remains contracted at Villa Park until June 2026 but there’s little-to-no intention from any party involved to continue together.

Dendoncker left the Villans on a six-month loan deal in January, joining Italian Serie A giants Napoli with the view to a permanent deal. But the 29-year-old, despite promising he was to work as hard as possible to become a regular starter in Naples, played just three times.

A lack of match fitness was the culprit as interim boss Franseco Calzona never even trusted in Dendoncker to feature off the bench, let alone from the start. In the end, merely 21 minutes were accumulated and there wasn’t a chance Napoli were to activate their €9 million (£7.7 million) buy option.

Football Insider reports Everton have “registered an interest” in Dendoncker as Sean Dyche is keen to bolster the base of his midfield. The Toffees believe they can revive the career of the versatile 32-time senior Belgium international, while it’s claimed Villa have given the player the green light to depart.

The Villans will be keen to recoup as much of the €15 million (£12.8 million) fee they paid to Wolverhampton Wanderers as they possibly can, but it could be tricky following his disastrous spell in Italy. The desire to part ways is strong, though, with the relationship between player and club not helped by Dendoncker’s comments earlier this year.

Dendoncker has burned his Villa bridges

Upon joining Napoli, the former Wolves and Anderlecht man aimed a dig at Villa. “I actually think that Napoli is slightly more prestigious,” Dendoncker told Voetbal Nieuws. “The club became champions last year and has performed well on the European stage in recent seasons.

“This was not the case at Aston Villa. Yes, this is the new start I needed. Everything is different here, whether it is on a sporting or cultural level. We know how passionate people are about football in Naples. I was in my sixth season in England,” Dendoncker said.