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Everton could have a problem brewing at the defensive midfield position, and youngster Leander Dendoncker might be the best person to fix it.
The Blues sold veteran Gareth Barry to West Bromwich Albion last week, and James McCarthy is injured (again). The Irishman has been previously linked with a move away from Goodison Park too, especially after it appeared that Ronald Koeman had had enough of Martin O’Neill and their comments to each other got more and more fractious as last season progressed.
RSC Anderlecht meanwhile have gotten off to a terrible start in defence of their Jupiler Pro League title, languishing mid-table with just four points in four games after two successive losses.
The Belgians lost Youri Tielemans this summer to Monaco, a player that had been loosely linked with the Blues and it’s looking like they will lose Leander Dendoncker as well now.
In June Everton had reportedly made a £15m bid for the midfielder, with Atletico Madrid and Manchester United interested in the player. At the time, the club had placed a £31m price tag on him in the face of that interest.
The 22-year-old had scored against United in the Europa League quarter-final last season, but with the Red Devils having picked up Nemanja Matic, they should be out of the running for Dendoncker now.
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After Anderlecht’s latest loss, Nieuwsblaad reported today that Dendoncker could have said his farewell to the home crowd yesterday with just ten days left to go before the transfer window shut.
He reportedly said to the press after the game -
"For the moment, I'm still here. So we will see if something happens. More can and I do not want to say so.”
Assuming Everton and Anderlecht can meet somewhere in the middle, it will not be an unreasonable price to bring the youngster into the club for, considering how much potential he shows. He would be able to learn from Morgan Schneiderlin and solidify that deep-lying midfield playmaker spot that is currently very thin at the Toffees.