Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate could leave Everton in fresh transfer twist – Paul Joyce
Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate could leave Everton this summer after the club announced the exits of Conor Coady and Ruben Vinagre, according to Paul Joyce.
The Toffees announced that the loanees have returned to their parent clubs after the expiration of their loan deals, with Everton opting against triggering the £4.5m option to sign Coady permanently for next season.
But according to The Times (1 June) that may not be the last of the defensive exits, with the club looking to trim a bloated squad this summer.
“It remains to be seen whether Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate remain at Everton this summer, with the club looking to trim what is considered a ‘bloated squad,’ he wrote.
Issues
The Everton squad has been incredibly unbalanced in recent seasons, and there is no doubt that has contributed to the poor level of performance over the last two years.
Coady and Vinagre are already confirmed to be leaving, while Yerry Mina won’t have his contract at the club extended beyond the summer either.
Jarrad Branthwaite is expected to return to the club after his loan away at PSV Eindhoven, with a new contract set to be offered, but that still leaves two more spots free compared to the 2022/23 season’s squad.
But with Holgate, Godfrey, James Tarkowski and Michael Keane still available for the centre-back positions, at least one of those could be allowed to leave without anyone else coming in.
Everton could likely get a decent fee for both players because of their age and experience, but the important thing is ensuring that whoever does leave is adequately replaced to not leave Sean Dyche short otherwise we’ll have another horror season.