Aston Villa have made their first signing since early July with Leander Dendoncker joining from Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.

According to Planet Sport, a fee in the region of £12 million was accepted by Wolves for the versatile Belgian, adding depth to both Steven Gerrard's midfield and defensive options.

The former Anderlecht man said: "I'm very excited to have signed for Villa.

"I can feel that this is a big club, you can just feel it.

"I'm really happy to be here."

He added: "It's a big stadium with good fans and I'm really excited to get started."

  • Time at Wolves

Dendoncker signed for Wolves on an initial loan from Anderlecht in August 2018 before joining permanently the following summer. 

Prior to moving to the Black Country, he was a promising product of the Anderlecht youth system and made over 170 appearances for the purple and white. This lead to lots of interest but a move to play in black and gold was taken up.

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The 27-year-old signed for £12 million and has made 159 appearances since, scoring 12 in that time. This has coincided with an added versatility to his game, playing at centre back and midfield under former coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

With the new style of football that Bruno Lage wants his side to play, Dendoncker has fallen out of favour, potentially falling victim to his own versatility in that sense.

  • What will he bring?

This is a signing that has come out of the blue in the last few days but has been completed quickly showing one of two things:

Dendoncker has either always been on the radar and now the signing has been executed, or the need for a midfielder and a defender is desperate and options are running out for the Villa hierarchy.

Whichever of these are true, he will provide cover in a side which is lacking depth at the back and can add some grit and work rate into a midfield that has been criticised over the last few weeks.

Although not the flashiest of signings, a man who can cover ground and get stuck in may be just what the doctor ordered for Gerrard and his side.

The versatile Belgian has taken the number 32.