Everton's 1-0 defeat against Tottenham was disappointing.
Under Carlo Ancelotti, the Toffees have looked a shadow of the side that were beaten on a regular basis under Marco Silva.
He has turned their fortunes around in quite some fashion and on Thursday night, they have the chance to bounce back from Monday's loss when they take on Southampton.
Coincidentally, they'll be facing a side possessing one of their major transfer targets this summer.
A manager usually doesn't have the ability to create his own scout report, but in this instance, he'll have the perfect opportunity to state his case to Marcel Brands.
The Everton key figure has been rallying up targets in recent weeks and it's defensively where they're aiming to improve.
John Stones has been linked with a sensational return while Lille's Brazilian defender Gabriel was touted with a potential switch.
Though, the man in question we're currently talking about is a holding player, someone that until recently, was Southampton's captain.
Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been eyed by Everton in the market before but now their interest is thought to be ramping up.
According to VI journalist Freek Jansen, the Merseysiders have a 'concrete' interest in the 24-year-old.
However, they face stiff competition from Tottenham and also Dutch giants Ajax.
In the past, Hojbjerg has been quoted at costing around the £25m mark.
GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...
It's remarkable that Hojbjerg is only 24 years of age.
The Denmark international is someone you feel has been at the top level for a considerable period of time.
He broke through at Bayern Munich at just the age of 17 under Jupp Heynckes before Pep Guardiola walked through the door.
Prior to the Spaniard arriving in Bavaria, however, he held Hojbjerg in glowing esteem.
Spanish journalist Marti Perarnau wrote about Pep's love for the player, revealing: "Pep had heard good things about Hojbjerg before coming to Bayern and it has taken just a couple of training sessions for him to fall in love with the player.
"Pep thinks he may have just found the Sergio Busquets of Bayern."
Unfortunately for the former Saints skipper, he failed to live up to those dizzy heights but he clearly still has a lot to give.
He's won 1.8 aerial duels per game but most importantly, has come out on top of 2.6 tackles per match.
That number is bettered only by Djibril Sidibe in the Everton squad over the entire 2019/20 season.