Everton correspondent with the Liverpool Echo Joe Thomas has listed Leeds among the Premier League clubs who are interested in 26 year old defender Mason Holgate, with the club reportedly open to offers for the Centre Back.
Its hard to see this one taking off in the current transfer window, but it appears as though Everton would consider allowing a number of first team players to leave the club, including defender Mason Holgate.
Reports have emerged in the past that the Whites had considered launching a bid for Holgate, but nothing really came of the speculation. Nottingham Forest are also said to be interested.
Holgate has struggled for minutes at Goodison Park under Frank Lampard this season, registering only 5 appearances in all competitions this season. He was a highly rated young talent in the early days of his career as an England Under 21 international, but has never really cemented himself as a top Premier League defender.
Leeds have already signed defender Max Wober from Red Bull Salzburg this January, and while its unclear whether he’ll be used in the centre or on the left side of the defence, its still another option for Jesse Marsch. On top of this, new contracts have been agreed with both Pascal Struijk and Diego Llorente, as well as a reported new contact in the works for German central defender Robin Koch [via Phil Hay in The Athletic].
In addition to movement around the first team defence, 19 year old Norwegian defender Leo Hjelde has completed his loan switch to Championship side Rotherham until the end of the 2022-23 season.
Seeing young defenders tipped as future talents head out on loan makes sense. But if Leeds were to be in the market for a new centre back who you wouldn’t consider a guaranteed starter, then it wouldn’t make sense having the likes of Hjelde and Cresswell out on loan. With all due respect to Holgate, he probably isn’t the answer to our well-documented defensive problems.
If the club is in the hunt for another defender, I think we’d all rather see someone who we’d be more confident would make an instant impact in tightening the Leeds defence. And with the club still short in the left back position, this isn’t one you’d imagine will come to fruition.