Everton are reportedly still interested in Anderlecht star Leander Dendoncker and with good reason.
Leander Dendoncker may have been on the wrong end of a 3-0 trouncing by Celtic in the Champions League in midweek but the 22-year-old still managed to look a cut above the rest of his Anderlecht team-mates.
Did we mention he was playing out of position? Normally a powerful box-to-box midfielder, Dendoncker dropped into the back three as the Belgian giants welcomed Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic to the Constant Vanden Stock stadium on Wednesday night.
And, if Everton manager Ronald Koeman had been watching, his interest in the young Belgian international should only have intensified. The Toffees were linked with Dendoncker all summer, The Sun claiming they had a £15 million bid rejected, and are understood to still be interested.
With good reason too. Dendoncker, like his former Anderlecht team-mate Youri Tielemens, is one of the most promising young midfielders in Europe and his performance against Celtic suggests that he could be quite a handy regista too.
At 6ft 2ins, Dendoncker is a fearsome presence in the centre of the park but his height and physicality could also come in handy at the heart of a back three – which coincidentally happens to be the system Koeman is favouring at Everton at the moment.
Blessed with fantastic distribution and the ability to transition from back to front, he would also allow Everton to shift formations during games and provide that tactical versatility Koeman’s side currently appear to be lacking.
Dendoncker would not come cheap but you must expect to pay a pretty penny for a player who can do almost everything you’d want from a midfielder.
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