In a recent interview with Football Insider, former Sunderland striker Darren Bent had words of praise for the Everton defenders, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate after they helped the Toffees secure a 2-1 win away at Southampton last weekend. Bent said (via Football Insider), “They’re good players, they can work together, they’re both powerful, they’re both good on the ball, it’s just about them working together to do the best for Everton Football Club.
“Mina is going to be seen as the more senior player, he needs to take more of a senior approach.”
Mina And Holgate Have Looked Impressive In Recent Games
Mina has formed a strong defensive partnership with Holgate in the Premier League over the past few weeks. However, both defenders need to find some consistency with their performances on the field. The Toffees centre-backs have allowed just two goals in their past three starts across all competitions.
Mina has featured in 11 league matches for Marco Silva’s side this term, making an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 4.1 clearances per game in the English top-flight (via whoscored). Comparatively, Holgate has only made eight appearances for the Merseyside club in this campaign, scoring one goal while grabbing two assists on all fronts. On the defensive end, he has averaged 1.4 tackles, 0.4 interceptions and 2.0 clearances per match in the top tier of England (stats via whoscored).
Can The Everton Duo Continue To Perform Well?
Mina is a commanding presence at the heart of the Everton backline while Holgate operates alongside him as a ball-playing centre-back. Both players complement each other well and have the potential to strike up a promising defensive partnership at Goodison Park in the coming years.
With the fixtures coming thick and fast after the international break, the Toffees duo will get plenty of opportunities to shine at Goodison Park. However, they need to be consistent or else, Marco Silva’s side might continue to struggle in the Premier League.
Both Mina and Holgate can also be a potent threat from set-pieces so they will be expected to score the odd goal which could help Everton climb up the league table. The early signs have been positive, but there is still a long way to go in this campaign. There will be plenty of big defensive tests for Mina and Holgate, especially during the busy winter months, so the jury is still out on whether they can keep up their good form in the coming weeks.