Everton fans may be glad to see the back of Mason Holgate as transfer decision made
Everton have told Mason Holgate that he is free to leave the club this summer and the Goodison Park faithful may be rejoicing at this latest news.
The senior defender played a bit-part role last season making just eight appearances all campaign and with his contract still with two years left to run, Everton were always expected to be willing sellers.
And according to the Liverpool Echo [26 June], the Toffees have informed the player that they will no longer be needing his services beyond this summer.
According to talkSPORT [26 June], the defender could very well be on the move to a Premier League club with newcomers Sheffield United emerging as a possible new destination.
The Blades are believed to be in advanced talks to secure his services on loan, with the Toffees needing to trim their wage bill and make room in the squad for potential new additions.
The centre-back position was incredibly stocked last season which meant Holgate simply had no place in the team, at the expense of the likes of Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina.
However, when Holgate did feature last season, he failed to convince the Everton fans and Sean Dyche that he could be relied upon for future use at Goodison Park. In Everton’s last few games, Holgate was largely horrendous, with his start against Crystal Palace in April ending in calamitous style as he was sent off for picking up his second yellow card with 80 minutes on the clock.
Against Manchester City last month, the Everton faithful will have arguably preferred to have him sent off again than putting in another costly and error-prone performance, which he did.
As per SofaScore, the defender picked up the worst average rating of any player on the pitch at 5.5/10, only managed to record three passes throughout his 56 minutes on the pitch, failed to win any of his total duels, was dribbled past twice as Riyad Mahrez gave him another tough afternoon in an Everton shirt and missed a gaping chance from a corner to give Everton any sort of much-needed hope.
The former Burnley boss was absolutely right to take him off when he did, going to a five-man system with Dwight McNeil as the left wing-back and Conor Coady in a left centre-back role. As soon as Holgate came off the pitch, Everton looked as solid as they’d ever been throughout the entire 90 minutes – further evidence of his decline as a Goodison player and the Toffees faithful certainly won’t be worried one bit about losing him to another Premier League outfit this summer.
Much of the Everton squad has been in desperate need of a total revamp for so long and it’s encouraging to see the club make a ruthless decision on a player no longer needed.
There are several other players who will be expecting the same fate as the club wishes to bring in a new era before the campaign kicks off next season.
Getting rid of Holgate is the first step in the Toffees finally moving forward from mediocrity.