Mason Holgate joined Southampton on loan last month with the hope of kick-starting his career away from Everton but he’s an unfortunate afterthought which may have damaging repercussions down the line.
The 26-year-old is currently out on a season-long loan with Southampton after being deemed to be surplus to requirements at Goodison Park.
The former England youth international’s deal with the Championship side doesn’t include an option-to-buy clause, but it was hoped that a good impression at may offer him a permanent deal at St Mary’s or elsewhere.
He’s only played just two games of the nine Championship games at St Mary’s so far though, and the centre-back is perhaps questioning his decision after the senior Everton defender has been guilty of the same lapses he endured at Goodison Park.
His debut was one to forget as he was subbed off against Sunderland with his side four goals behind in an eventual 5-0 drubbing. Then, against Middlesbrough, he came under fire for his first-half display and was substituted early once again, this time at half-time.
The centre-back joined the Toffees from Barnsley in 2015 for a fee believed to be in the region of £2million after he was highly rated by the South Yorkshire club.
His time with the Blues hasn’t worked out how many thought it would after the defender showed an awful of promise in his younger years and has gone on to make just shy of 150 appearances for Everton.
It’s been made pretty clear during Sean Dyche’s time at Goodison Park that the defender isn’t really in his long-term plans, having only made eight appearances in all competitions last season, with only three of those games coming under the former Burnley boss
That led to him joining the Saints on loan despite Sky Sports journalist Mark McAdam reporting on his Twitter account on 13 August that the Blues were looking to sell him permanently.
Southampton are trying to sign Mason Holgate on a season long loan from Everton.
There is currently a gap in the percentage of wages #saintsfc are willing to contribute and what Everton want.
Although Everton are open to a loan, their preference is to sell.
However, that wish may now seem impossible with his current deal at Goodison Park coming to a close in 2024 with the Toffees harbouring hopes of accumulating some sort of fee for his services in January.
His poor tenure at Southampton certainly means manager Russell Martin won’t be thinking about buying him or any other manager for that matter and it may be more plausible for Everton to agree on some sort of settlement and get rid of him for good.
