Player profile

The pony-tailed defender lasted six months at Everton after joining them for £5m in the summer of 2005. He made only one Premier League appearance – in a 4-0 defeat against Aston Villa – before the Goodison Park club cut their losses and sold him to Fiorentina when the transfer window re-opened.

Sidelined by a hernia problem immediately after his move to Merseyside, Kroldrup then failed to impress and admitted that he simply could not cope with the pace and physicality of the English game.

Kroldrup has spent most of his career in Italy, impressing during four years with Udinese before his dismal spell at Everton was ended by Fiorentina, where he has since enhanced his reputation in Serie A. He has also played for them in the Champions League. With his contract due to expire this summer, Kroldrup extended his stay at Fiorentina by agreeing a new two-year deal in May. He has mostly been a back-up player for Denmark, featuring only once in their qualification campaign, and was part of their 2004 European Championship squad.

He had a trial with Arsenal as a 21-year-old before leaving Danish side B93 for Udinese, where he played under Fulham boss Roy Hodgson. His failure at Everton came after former Toffees and Denmark midfielder Thomas Gravesen advised him to join them, while ex-Liverpool and Denmark star Jan Molby described Kroldrup at the time as “a centre-back with authority who can go straight into the Premiership.”