Everton fans will remember years of links with Youri Tielemans, without an awful lot actually happening. Goodison Park just seemed to suit Tielemans as a destination, with the midfielder not wanting to go straight to one of the biggest Champions League clubs for fear of ending up on the bench.
Tielemans, still just 20 years of age, eventually signed for AS Monaco in a €25m switch from Anderlecht, and must have been assured of prominence at the French principality team.
Now the Anderlecht transfer focus turns to others, including Leander Dendoncker. The 22 year old doesn’t seem quite as patient as Tielemans did, and he’s obviously a couple of years older, but Anderlecht don’t want to sell.
Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg reports that Everton are interested, and Atletico Madrid have even tried to reserve Dendoncker ahead of the January window.
Coincidentally, Atletico were also repeatedly linked with Tielemans, just like Everton.
Everton, Atletico, and an unnamed German club, have all been told they’ll have to part with €38m should they want Dendoncker this summer, according to the claims.
Het Belang van Limburg acknowledge that’s about €15m more than Dendoncker’s real transfer value.
If a club turned up with €30m+ offer then this stance would be severely tested. Maybe Everton and Atletico are simply names being used to help Anderlecht flex their muscles.
