CHAMPIONSHIP SIDE SWOOP FOR EVERTON FRINGE PLAYER MASON HOLGATE

Everton defender Mason Holgate could be about to join Championship side Southampton.

The 26-year-old has been linked with a move away from Goodison Park throughout the summer after falling down the defensive pecking order.

As reported in the Liverpool Echo, the versatile defender is currently travelling to the South Coast to complete a medical ahead of a 12-month loan move.

The loan would not include an obligation to buy the 26-year-old, who has been left out of Everton’s match day squads for the opening games of the Premier League this season.

Mason Holgate started just five games for the Toffees last season, with two of those coming under Sean Dyche’s stewardship, including April’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace when the defender was dismissed for two bookable offences.

Holgate’s performances over the past couple of years have been inconsistent at best, with the former Barnsley man often a defensive liability.

Contracted at Everton until the summer of 2025, Holgate would return to Goodison Park at the end of his loan deal with the Saints with just a year remaining on his current deal.

Holgate leaving and Che Adams arriving would be good business from Everton

Meanwhile, a player who still could move in the other direction is Southampton forward Che Adams, though the Liverpool Echo reports that the collapse of the MSP deal means that the financial uncertainty has complicated the transfer.

With a reported fee agreed of around £15m, Everton and Southampton have so far failed to reach an agreement with regards to how much should be paid upfront.

Consequently, Everton are about to go into the third Premier League game of the season, and the final week of the transfer window, without recruiting the centre-forward that the club desperately needs.

Indeed, it is a situation compounded by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence, as confirmed by Sean Dyche during yesterday’s press conference.