Everton will make transfer blunder if Mason Holgate allowed to leave Goodison Park in January
Everton will make a big mistake if they allow Mason Holgate to leave the club during the January transfer window.
Southampton are in the race to sign the 26-year-old centre-back in the January window, according to Neil Moxley [Sunday People, 1 January, Page 50], and the Toffees could look to sell him.
He has dropped down the pecking order at the club and the current financial situation means the Toffees could look to cash in on Holgate.
Nathan Jones, the Saints boss, is keen to sign a new centre-back in January and he has earmarked Holgate as a potential option.
It will be transfer madness if the Toffees sell him now.
Frank Lampard has loads of options in central defence areas. Conor Coady and James Tarkowski are the two first-choice centre-backs for the club.
Ben Godfrey is another option for the Toffees boss, and he will be competing with Coady and Tarkowski for the starting role.
Lampard also has the likes of Yerry Mina and Michael Keane on his ranks alongside Holgate. Keane is not in Lampard’s plans and he should be sold.
The club must sell Mina in January, even though he is arguably the club’s best defender when fit.
He is too injury-prone and cannot even manage 10 starts in the Premier League. Holgate needs regular games, and the Toffees can ship him out next summer.
However, the squad will be weakened if Holgate is allowed to leave but Mina stays.
Kevin Thelwell must consider the wider picture as the Toffees could be dragged into a relegation dogfight, depending on results. In that case, one or two injuries could leave the squad fragile.
Holgate has a contract at the club until 2025, and Everton are under no pressure to sell him. No way, he should be sold in January.