Thelwell disaster: Everton eyeing another dud who's as strong as 'a macaroni penguin' - opinion

Everton must not pursue their reported move for Leicester City defender Jannik Vestergaard.

This article is part of The Transfer Tavern’s The Gossip series, where we analyse players and managers based on praise and criticism from past and present.

Football Insider report that Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell is very much an admirer of Vestergaard.

He apparently tried to sign the Dane during his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and launched a fresh scouting mission during the recent international break.

Thelwell and his recruitment team believe he could be an asset to the club because of his ‘aerial dominance’ and experience in the Premier League, but there’s reason to question that assessment.

Last summer, amid links to Tottenham Hotspur, former PL midfielder Rob Lee admitted that he was unconvinced by Vestergaard and urged the Lilywhites to think twice about a move (via Football Fan Cast).

He questioned the consistency of the centre-back’s performances: “I’ve seen him play well, seen him play badly, so I wouldn’t go breaking the bank for him,” he said.

“I’d go and break the bank for Danny Ings, but for Vestergaard, no, not really. He’s not Virgil van Dijk, is he?”

In the end, it was Leicester City that snapped him up, but some journalists believe the move has proven to be a mistake.

For example, Josh Bunting of the Islington Gazette has called it a ‘poor’ signing that ‘hasn’t worked at all’, while Zach Lowy regards him as ‘one of the biggest flops’ of the summer transfer window.

Lowy also believes that the 6 foot 6 Vestergaard isn’t as dominant as he ought to be – he labelled him ‘about as imposing in the air as a macaroni penguin’. The numbers support this too, as the Denmark international ranks eighth for