Aston Villa: £75k-a-week star could replace Kamara at Villa Park

Aston Villa’s decision to bring in Leander Dendocker from Wolverhampton Wanderers has ‘proven to be smart business’, according to BirminghamLive reporter Ashley Preece.

Fellow summer signing Boubacar Kamara could be set for a spell on the sidelines through injury, meaning the 27-year-old could get an opportunity to impress over the coming weeks.

Villa confirmed that Kamara, who arrived on a free transfer from Marseille back in May, suffered a knee ligament injury in their 1-0 victory over Southampton last time out.

Subsequent reports have claimed that the France international is set for a two-month spell on the treatment table, ruling him out of the upcoming World Cup.

The 22-year-old has started all of Villa’s seven Premier League games to date, settling into his new surroundings in impressive fashion, and manager Steven Gerrard faces a tough task to replace his contribution.

However, he may already have a ready-made replacement within his ranks after snapping up Dendoncker for around £13 million on transfer deadline day.

The Belgium international had entered the final year of his £75,000-per-week contract at Molineux and was eager to move onto pastures new after slipping down the pecking order under Bruno Lage.

Preece has informed GiveMeSport that he believes losing Kamara on top of Diego Carlos is a ‘body blow’ to Villa but that Dendoncker is a ‘like-for-like’ replacement.

He said: “To lose him so early on, as they have done with Diego Carlos, is a bit of a body blow. So, they need people who can step up, and they addressed that in the summer on deadline day.

“Dendoncker is a like-for-like I guess, so that’s pretty smart business. It’s proven to be smart business should Kamara be out for a considerable amount of