Reports have surfaced that Everton have joined in the race to sign Leander Dendoncker from RSC Anderlecht before the end of the January transfer window. West Ham United were close to signing the Belgian after they sent over scouts to watch him play against Genk last weekend.
Something that was expected to pop-up, seen the good relationships: West Ham watched him, but Leander Dendoncker has been offered to Everton too. An Onyekuru scenario: buy him and loan him back to Anderlecht? #efc #whufc pic.twitter.com/4Ma9tem3CX
— Kristof Terreur ? (@HLNinEngeland) January 26, 2018
The 22-year-old is a steam-engine and is one of the most resourceful players on the pitch. He can appear both as a midfielder as well as a central defender. His sharp technical abilities allows him to surge forward to formulate attacks at will and have quite rightfully drawn the eyes of an English side who could do very well with his talents in the squad.
Dendoncker’s career started off from modest backgrounds with the Belgian international signing up with his local club, Passendale. The big leap to Anderlecht came in 2009 where he has registered a whopping 156 appearances so far. Nobody can dispute his experience in top-flight football.
With 1 assists in 27 total appearances for the Belgian outfit this season, Dendoncker is a regular starter under Hein Vanhaezebrouck and helped the side to win the 2016/17 league title. He also got called up to the senior Belgium national side and has been capped four times already.
Everton have invested heavily in the summer transfer window and with the 9th rank after 24 games in the Premier League, some of the transfers might not have worked out as expected.
Gylfi Sigurdsson was one of the best-attacking midfielders in the Premier League during his days with Swansea City. The Iceland international was held to high praise from fans and pundits alike and his transfer to Goodison Park looked like the ideal step for the next stage of his career. But he has been far from his impressive self this season and is still adjusting to the creative role from the flanks alongside Wayne Rooney.
Morgan Schneiderlin has also struggled to find his feet from the holding midfield role, with James McCarthy going down to a horrific injury against West Brom. The midfield has struggled to match up to the pace of the English game in terms of both distribution and defensive responsibilities and Dendoncker can be the perfect answer to the rising concern.
The squad has been bolstered offensively by the signings of Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun over the past couple of weeks and the Everton management should not shy away from the opportunity to sign the Portuguese midfielder, which might be a bold step towards revitalising their run in the top flight for the rest of the season.
