Everton Targets Summer Transfer for Koni De Winter from Genoa
Everton is reportedly interested in acquiring Koni De Winter, the Genoa defender, during the upcoming summer transfer window. According to an article from TEAMtalk, Everton is among several teams, including Premier League contenders Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as Inter Milan and various Bundesliga clubs, expressing interest in the player, who is valued at £21 million.
The report suggests that De Winter could serve as a potential replacement for Jarrad Branthwaite if he departs. Nonetheless, Everton may pursue De Winter regardless of Branthwaite’s status, as scouts are monitoring De Winter closely due to his potential as a strong addition to their defense. The Belgian defender grew up in Antwerp and played youth football with Lierse SK and Zulte Waregem before joining Juventus at the age of 16 in 2018.
Interestingly, he was the first Belgian to sign with Juventus, but during his time there, he made only two senior appearances, both in Champions League matches. Most of the 2021/22 season was spent with their Under-23 team in Serie C. Over the past two seasons, De Winter has had loan spells at Empoli and Genoa before making a permanent move to the latter last summer.
Though he missed a few months of the season due to a hamstring injury, De Winter, who stands at 6ft 3in, has participated in 17 matches for Genoa this term. He has represented Belgium twice at the senior level. According to Comparisonator’s Similarity tool, De Winter matches 57% in playing style with Branthwaite while he has a 95% similarity rate with Manchester United’s £80 million defender Harry Maguire, 94% with Jannik Vestergaard of Leicester City, and 93% with Dean Huijsen of Bournemouth.
Utilizing Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool, De Winter’s performance statistics from Serie A are compared to players in his position in the Premier League. He excels in one-on-one challenges, contesting 19.2 duels per 90 minutes, surpassing Premier League leader Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth. Additionally, he tops Senesi in duels won, logging 11.73 compared to 11.45.
Only Tottenham’s Ben Davies has a higher average of aerial duels contested than De Winter’s 6.33. Furthermore, De Winter has scored three goals this season and possesses greater shots on target per match compared to other Premier League centre-backs. His ball recovery stats suggest he could offer valuable contributions defensively as well. With the potential changes in Everton’s defense, De Winter’s youthful profile may suit Moyes’s plans should there be adjustments among current centre-backs.
*Comparisonator is a football data analysis tool that compares players and clubs across over 100 parameters from 271 professional leagues. Click here for more information.
