Leander Dendoncker excited by Premier League challenge

Belgium international Leander Dendoncker has spoken about the excitement of playing in the Premier League following his move to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The 23-year-old has joined the west Midlands outfit on a season-long loan but the club have the option to buy him for £12m at the end of the campaign.

Speaking to reporters, Dendoncker admitted that he has achieved his dream of making the move to the Premier League and he is now looking forward to playing with some of the best players around, he said: “A move to the Premier League is a dream for every footballer. My international ­team-mates say it is the biggest league in the world. They told me to come here and that I would ­become a better player ­because playing in the ­Premier League is like playing Champions League every week. I don’t think that is a lie, because I think the best players are here. This is an ambitious club [Wolves] – that’s what attracts me the most.”

Dendoncker has usually been deployed in midfield for“ Anderlecht over the past few seasons but at the World Cup, “ Belgium manager Roberto Martinez opted to field the youngster in central defence, which he put in a good shift against England in the final group stage game. As such, Wolves are getting a player, who has the versatility to occupy multiple positions and it will be interesting to see whether the Belgian can command a regular role with the Wolves from the off.

Wolves begin their Premier League campaign with a home fixture against Everton and they may fancy their prospects of an opening day win, given the Toffees have looked pretty much awful during pre-season. Marco Silva’s side endured a difficult pre-season campaign where they managed to pick up just one victory from their seven friendlies.