Leander Dendoncker was born on 15 April 1995 and is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as either a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht, on loan from Premier League club Aston Villa.
18 Facts About Leander Dendoncker
1.
2.
Leander Dendoncker was loaned to Serie A club Napoli and to Anderlecht.
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Leander Dendoncker made his senior international debut for Belgium in June 2015.
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Leander Dendoncker was part of their squad that finished third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, featuring at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
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Leander Dendoncker said at the time that he modelled his game on that of the Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets.
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Leander Dendoncker played all 16 games in their European campaign that season, which ended with elimination by eventual winners Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
7.
On 9 August 2018, Leander Dendoncker moved to newly promoted English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on an initial season-long loan with an obligation on Wolves to make the player a permanent Wolves signing in summer 2019.
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Leander Dendoncker became a permanent Wolves signing on 1 July 2019, his original loan agreement having included an obligation on the club to sign him permanently at the end of the original season-long loan period.
9.
On 14 December 2020, it was announced by Wolverhampton Wanderers that Leander Dendoncker had extended his contract with the club until 2023, with an option of a further twelve months available to the club.
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Leander Dendoncker was mainly used as a substitute in his first season, and missed out on games altogether, and manager Unai Emery said that it was because of "a problem at home"; he was absent from all of March 2023 with a hand injury.
11.
On 31 August 2024, Leander Dendoncker returned to Anderlecht on loan until the end of the season.
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Leander Dendoncker was called up by Martinez for UEFA Euro 2020 in May 2021.
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Leander Dendoncker returned to the starting line-up in a goalless draw with Croatia which eliminated the Belgians.
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Leander Dendoncker was born in Passendale, West Flanders, to pig farming parents.
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Lars Leander Dendoncker retired at age 22 in 2023, due to a heart condition.
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Leander Dendoncker moved to Brussels to play for Anderlecht while in their under-15 team and suffered from homesickness while adjusting to the difference between a largely white rural setting and a diverse urban environment.
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Leander Dendoncker attended the Sint-Guido-Instituut school in Anderlecht at the time that it was being filmed for the fly-on-the-wall documentary De School van Lukaku focusing on his teammate Romelu Lukaku.
18.
Leander Dendoncker has noted that he speaks in West Flemish to his family, but the Brabantian dialect when doing interviews for Anderlecht.