Jesper Lindstrøm Scouted: What Does 'Jobbe' Bring to Merseyside?

The expectations were huge when Jesper Lindstrøm was presented at Napoli a year ago. He was praised as a great addition, a player that could make the recently-crowned Italian champions even better by head coach Luciano Spalletti. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. 

Soon after "Jobbe", as he is fondly known by friends and family in Denmark, found himself in an Italian hell as Napoli fell into chaos, with Spalletti leaving the club due to disagreements with the owner of the club soon after Lindstrøm arrived. 

Now, Lindstrøm’s year of misery is finally over, and he has arrived in Everton on a season-long loan with an option to buy, the aim of restarting his career and recapturing his spot on the Danish national team. But what does the midfielder bring to the Blue part of Merseyside, and what can Evertonians expect of their new signing?

Schmeichel, the Laudrups… and Lindstrøm

Growing up in the western outskirts of Copenhagen, locally known as Vestegnen, Lindstrøm comes from a family of passionate fans of the local powerhouse, Brøndby IF. At the age of 12, he joined Brøndby himself, a club he supported his whole life, and he quickly emerged as one of the most talented players of his age group. 

Although Lindstrøm excelled tactically and technically, he was struggling with the physical part of the game due to his lack of size and strength. 

Nevertheless, he continued to emerge through the ranks of the club, and in November 2018, he received his official debut for the first team at the age of 18, as he played 10 minutes in a cup match away against minors Marienlyst. Then, the following season, he earned his first appearance on home field as he received the last seven minutes on the pitch in a Europa League qualifier against Inter Turku from Finland. 

“From my room in Brøndby Strand, I can see the floodlights from Brøndby Stadion light in the dark,” he wrote on Twitter following his home debut. “For many years, I’ve dreamt of stepping onto the pitch in that stadium and play for Brøndby. Today that dream became reality, and I will never forget this day.”

That season, Lindstrøm went to appear in 28 league matches for Brøndby, starting 14 of them. At the time, Brøndby was rebuilding the squad after years of heavy spending but no championships to show for it, and expensive players were sold and replaced with homegrown youngsters such as Jobbe, current Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, Sheffield United’s Anis Ben Slimane and Genoa ace Morten Frendrup. 

The 2019-20 season saw the club finish fourth in the Superliga, but along the way there were signs that the young guns had something special to them. Lindstrøm himself busted into the scene by scoring an overtime brace against Lechia Gdansk in the Europa League qualification, securing Brøndby a 4-1 victory at home after coming on shortly before the end of regular time.  In the league, he added another three goals, all of them crucial in one-goal victories. 

However, it wasn’t until the following 2020-21 season that Lindstrøm really made a name for himself. He went from being a talented youngster to an established star. He became the offensive focal point and playmaker on Brøndby’s team on the central midfield, and thanked for the trust with ten goals and ten assists in 29 matches. With Jobbe on the midfield, Brøndby went to win the Danish championship for the first time since 2005, earning him a spot in the history books and instant legend status at the club. 

That season also saw him debut on the Danish national team in a friendly against Sweden at Brøndby Stadion. By getting capped on the national team while still at Brøndby, he earned a spot on the Brøndby Wall of Honour of the club’s national team players, where he appears alongside all time greats such as Michael and Brian Laudrup, Peter Schmeichel and Daniel Agger. 

During the season, Lindstrøm showcased all of his gifts and despite his young age he contributed in both the biggest matches and never seemed to be limited by the expectations and responsibility put on his shoulders. 

Lindstrøm had, however, also outgrown the Superliga, and following the championship he left Denmark. Eintracht Frankfurt made him Brøndby’s most expensive sale since Liverpool bought Daniel Agger, following the club’s previous championship, and he took the Bundesliga by storm. 

In his first season, he won the Rookie of the Year award in the Bundesliga while Frankfurt also won the Europa League with Lindstrøm an instrumental player along the way. 

The following season, Lindstrøm scored Frankfurt’s first ever Champions League goal, and once again he had outgrown his club and was ready to take the next step. He left Germany for Napoli with 12 Bundesliga goals and six assists in two seasons. 

Dynamic And Versatile

The move to Napoli was obviously no success for Lindstrøm, and he now arrives in Everton hungry to get back to his old form.

As I explained while speaking about Lindstrøm on BBC Merseyside earlier in the week, Everton are getting a skilled offensive midfielder with a quality mindset and mentality. 

He is best when playing centrally on the midfield. At both Brøndby and Frankfurt, he was playing in a free role on the offensive midfield, and he has a fantastic ability to find open space – either by drifting wide or going deep to receive the ball. 

When on the ball, he has an extra level of speed, and he can move it forward with great pace and also take on defenders 1v1, which makes him lethal on teams that press aggressively and on counter attacks. 

He has a great eye for goal and is a skilled finisher. He has a powerful shot from the distance, and has scored some screamers over the years, but also has the technique to finish from difficult positions. His ability to find space also goes in the penalty area, where he knows how to time his runs and make it difficult for defenders to mark him as he attacks the goal. 

However, he also has eye for his teammates and can set them up. When Brøndby won the league in 2021, he had the most assists of all players in the league, and he proved these abilities at Frankfurt as well. 

Despite being an offense-minded player, there is no drama with Lindstrøm. He is all about the team, and has always been popular among both teammates and fans. 

He is hard-working and contributes greatly in the defensive part of the game as well. Playing under German coaches at both Brøndby and Frankfurt, he has mastered the art of gegenpress and his positioning is also strong defensively. 

Lastly, Jobbe is a versatile player that is capable of playing multiple roles. He can be deployed as a number ten, but can also easily play deeper in a number eight role. He can also play as a second striker, which he did at times at Frankfurt, and on the wing. 

He is best centrally though. This is where he has been incredibly successful at both Brøndby and Frankfurt, while Napoli and the Danish national team has deployed him mostly as a winger without the same degree of success. 

All in all, Everton are signing a player with an immense amount of talent and a track record that shows he can perform at the highest level when trusted and used correctly. 

Toke Møller Theilade is a Danish football writer, editor-in-chief at VilfortPark.dk and Brøndby supporter

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