Club chief claims that Everton have landed themselves a £20m bargain
Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber has outlined his belief that Everton will be pleased with a ‘good deal’ after landing a big bargain in Ben Godfrey.
The 23-year-old moved away from East Anglia in October despite starting the first three Championship games of the season for the recently relegated Canaries as they paid the price for their drop down in divisions.
Godfrey made the long trip to Merseyside to sign for Everton in a £20million move and made his Blues debut against local rivals Liverpool on October 17 and has not looked back since, racking up 14 Premier League appearances.
His impressive displays this season have seen him compared to English greats like Rio Ferdinand and Webber believes Everton will be counting their lucky stars, telling The Athletic: “With Ben or James [Maddison], if you spoke to Everton or Leicester now, they’d probably talk about what a good deal they got.”
He added: “I sat with Ben and I really didn’t want him to go last summer, nor did (head coach) Daniel Farke, obviously, but it was Everton. It was one of the best managers in the world (Carlo Ancelotti).
“It’s a club trying to get back to where they were as a big club at the top end of English football. You get to the point of thinking, ‘How can we actually stop this lad?’”
England and Europe next on the agenda
It has certainly been a meteoric rise as less than three years ago Godfrey was turning out for Shrewsbury Town in League One.
He is now being touted for an England call-up and who can argue with that after his sensational start to life on Merseyside.
Aside from his absence in the 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United on January 30 Godfrey has started every single Everton game since November 22, a mammoth 15 matches out of a possible 16.
His versatility has seen him play along the backline with outings spread across full-back and the centre of defence.
With the Blues looking like sure-fire European candidates the next step beckons for Godfrey as he aims to prove his England credendtials.
After taking to life at Everton with consummate ease we can’t wait to see the talented defender flex his talents on the European stage in a Blue shirt for many years to come.
Webber is right, what a good deal it was when we signed Godfrey.
In other Everton news, see our exclusive interview with Kevin Campbell on the tactical tweaks Carlo Ancelotti may make following Josh King’s arrival.