Holgate must “get back to a place of positivity” since there is “no hiding” from his subpar start at St Mary’s Stadium, according to journalist Dean Jones, who spoke with GIVEMESPORT on September 9.
Despite the Toffees’ subpar defense, Holgate was already judged surplus to needs at Goodison Park. His loan to the Championship was an attempt to reroute his lately promising career.
It got off to a poor start, said Jones. There is no possible way to avoid that. But Mason Holgate will experience that more than anybody else.
“At Everton, Holgate came from a place where everyone was depressed. If Holgate were to play, he would likely be making glaring errors. Clean linens will help him regain his positive attitude, which is something he needs. They’ll arrive at Southampton.
Given Holgate’s high salary and Everton’s precarious financial situation, a sale of the former England youth international may be imminent this summer.
Evidently, Sean Dyche did not think Holgate fit into his team. His stock has drastically fallen as a result of his declining performance in recent seasons. The 23-year-old was allegedly in line for a call-up to the senior England team in 2020 (10 January), according to The Mirror. He participates in the Championship three and a half years later..
It’s unlikely he will play a part in Everton’s future unless he finds success at Southampton. Although Holgate’s bad performance was blamed on Saints manager Russell Martin, who said, as reported by GIVEMESPORT, “I shouldn’t have picked him and it was too soon,” it does not augur well for his future in the Premier League if he cannot persevere in the second tier.
A sale makes good financial sense. In light of the Toffees’ financial difficulties, Football Insider alleged on July 2 that Holgate’s pay will automatically increase this summer to £72,000 per week.
The hierarchy’s top priority should be to remove him from payroll and prevent this wage bill growth. A reasonable price for Holgate would likely result in Everton making a profit, albeit perhaps not as much as they had planned when they purchased him eight years ago, given that the 26-year-old only cost £2 million from Barnsley in 2015.
However, the club must consider whether anyone would want to purchase him. Holgate, of course, has plenty of time to strengthen his performance and disprove his detractors. It is definitely possible that he can increase his stock because he was highly respected for a reason and has previously excelled while wearing the Everton jersey.
His significant wages would be an issue too. Even if he does improve, no club in the market for the likes of Holgate would dish out such high wages, so he’d be forced to take a pay cut – a significant one.
If Holgate doesn’t want to, he could just see out his Toffees contract and cash in his hefty cheque from the bench each week.
Most importantly for Holgate, however, he needs to be in the right environment to flourish. Jones said Holgate “is coming from an environment, at Everton, where everyone was low. He needs to get back to a place of positivity, and that’s going to come with clean sheets.”
If he returns to a low Everton environment after his loan, he could be back to square one again – more motivation for a sale.
The best-case scenario is that Holgate returns on top form and can slot into Dyche’s still-Premier League defence. Hopefully, this is the case, but the Toffees must be realistic about their financial situation and aim to get the most from a high-cost asset.
