The Athletic’s Wolverhampton Wanderers correspondent Tim Spiers has claimed that the club may look to ‘improve on’ Leander Dendoncker next season if his finishing does not improve.
Back in the summer of 2018, Wolves signed the 25-year-old Belgian on loan from Anderlecht before signing him permanently a year later for £12.42m (per Transfermarkt).
Since joining the Old Gold, the midfielder has made 100 appearances for the club, in which he has scored eight goals but not provided a single assist for a teammate.
This season, he has had 17 outings in all competitions, however, he has not managed a single goal involvement.
During the latest episode of The Athletic’s The Molineux View podcast, Spiers aired his thoughts on every player in Wolves’ squad and dropped a claim regarding Dendoncker.
He said: “I think Wolves are a better team with him in it. I really like a lot of the attributes he’s got.
“He works so hard but if he’s going to be the answer in the long-term in that position, he’s got to add goals.
“He’s not scored this season, he’s missed quite a few glaring opportunities.
“He’s got to improve that because otherwise, they’ll look to improve on him for next season, I think.”
TIF Thoughts on what Tim Spiers said about Leander Dendoncker…
As can be seen in what the reporter had to say, he believes that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side may look to replace the Belgian if he does not begin finding the back of the net more often.
Do you believe that Leander Dendoncker can add goals to his game?
No, he's not capable
Yes, it is possible
Over Dendoncker’s 14 appearances in the league this season, he has earned a 6.70/10 average rating and been Wolves’ ninth-best performer (per WhoScored).
In front of goal, he has managed a total of 1.6 shots per game, which is the joint-fifth-most shots taken in the entire squad.
However, eight players have managed to score a goal for Wolves in the league while the Belgian has not, four of which have a lower or equal shots-per-game total.
So, it is clear to see that the £28.8m-rated man is underperforming in front of goal and perhaps it would be understandable if he was replaced because of that.