Everton could welcome ‘brilliant’ outcast back to Finch Farm in January window

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Everton could welcome Mason Holgate back to the club in January.

Mason Holgate joined Everton from Barnsley for just £2 million in 2015, though struggled to retain a regular place in the starting line-up until Carlo Ancelotti arrived four years later.

The 27-year-old has been used in various different positions at Goodison Park, but had really struggled for form and minutes prior to his loan move to Southampton.

Everton were eager to offload Holgate in the summer and eventually joined the recently relegated Saints on a season-long loan, despite his contract expiring at the end of the season.

Holgate made his debut in a 5-0 thrashing by Sunderland, while he has since only managed four starts in the Championship.

The defender’s last start came against West Brom in November, when manager Russell Martin praised him for his ‘brilliant ‘performance.

However, the Everton loanee has been an unused substitute in the eight league matches since.

The Athletic have now reported that Everton could be set to recall Holgate prematurely after an underwhelming stint on the south coast.

The Toffees could be forced to look elsewhere for another loan move for the outcast, with reports claiming that the likes of Rangers, Middlesbrough and Watford are all interested.

What should Everton do now?

Mason Holgate’s contract is set to expire in six months, which makes a loan deal pretty useless for Everton.

Football Insider reported in the summer that a clause in Holgate’s contract meant that his wages had automatically increased to a whopping £72,000-per-week, making the defender extremely difficult to offload permanently.

It’s unclear how Sean Dyche‘s side will approach it in January, as it certainly seems a waste of time to send him back on loan again if he will then just leave for free at the end of the campaign.

If Everton are unable to sell him next month, then I would argue keeping him at Finch Farm is a more sensible idea. The Merseyside aren’t benefitting from letting him leave temporarily and he could also add some much-needed squad depth, especially when Ben Godfrey has already been linked with the exit door.

While they only actually spent £2m on Holgate in 2015, this contract clause seems utterly ridiculous from a financial point of view. Everton could have made some kind of profit if any other club could actually afford to pay his wages.