Garth Crooks drools over ‘pivotal’ Everton ace, names him in TOTW
Garth Crooks has included Everton defender Mason Holgate in his Premier League Team of the Week.
The 23-year-old put in an eye-catching display in the 1-1 draw with West Ham over the weekend, and even managed to bag himself an assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser.
And his efforts earned the praised of pundit Garth Crooks.
Speaking to BBC Sport, when naming his Team of the Week, he said: “I’ve been talking about Mason Holgate for some time and the young defender makes my TOTW for the third time this season.
“Holgate played a pivotal role in the point gained by Everton at West Ham.
“This lad is maturing into a top class defender. This is a much more resilient team under Carlo Ancelotti with a developing sense of professionalism about their performances.
“Under caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson there was bags of effort and lots of passion. Under Ancelotti there’s a strategy.”
How good was Holgate against West Ham?
In a word, superb.
The defender was arguably man of the match as he put in exactly the kind of shift that has seen him establish himself as a key member of the Blues’ team this season.
On Saturday afternoon he registered four tackles, two blocks, two interceptions, five clearances, and a pass completion rate of 89.3%, as per Whoscored.
He also won an extra two aerial duels, including one for his assist, and got an overall match rating of 8.56.
Holgate was immense from start to finish, and he is quickly becoming undroppable for the Toffees.
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