Patrick Bamford rages over ‘horrific’ moment for Everton loanee Mason Holgate
Patrick Bamford has hit out at Everton loanee Mason Holgate after his awful red-card challenge on Karou Mitoma earlier in the season.
Having joined Sheffield United on a temporary basis during the January transfer window, the defender was thrown straight into Chris Wilder’s starting XI and went up against the Brighton star in his third start for the Blades.
After just 13 minutes, Holgate was shown a straight red card for a brutal challenge on the Japan winger on Sunday 18 February and has not made an appearance since.
Speaking via the My Mate’s a Footballer podcast on Thursday (14 March), Bamford said: “Did you see, talking about how players react, some players were making out that Mitoma made a deal of that tackle?
“Honestly, it’s the worst tackle I think I’ve ever seen. Like, it was horrific.”
Does Mason Holgate have a future at Everton?
After failing to make the desired impact on loan at Southampton in the first six months of the campaign, Holgate was handed a second chance when the Blades registered an interest in him during January.
However, Wilder will be regretting his decision to bring the 27-year-old to the club, having made three appearances before the horrible moment against Mitoma in February.
The centre-back, who is also capable of deputising at full-back, was once a very exciting prospect at Goodison Park, making 151 appearances for the Toffees since arriving from Barnsley in 2015.
But having dropped down the pecking order under Sean Dyche, being replaced by Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski, and not being able to make the substitutes bench, there is little hope for Holgate.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the defender during the summer transfer window, with his parent club seemingly not wanting him and few clubs likely to fancy him after his recent cameos.
In other Everton news, there is pressure mounting as the Toffees’ financial future is in doubt amid a fresh takeover twist.
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