According to a recent report by the Daily Mirror, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City are said to be eyeing up a summer move for versatile Everton defender Mason Holgate. The youngster is said to have impressed not just the scouting team at the Etihad, but also Pep Guardiola himself. The report claims that the City backroom staff have been keeping keen eyes on the Englishman’s progress right from the start of the campaign.
It has been suggested that Manchester City would have to shell out in the region of £30m for the defender’s services. To counter this, the Citizens are said to be considering offering former Everton man John Stones in exchange for Holgate’s signature. Guardiola has supposedly identified Holgate as one of his main targets for the summer, primarily because of his exploits at right-back for West Bromwich Albion last season.
Would Mason Holgate Be An Improvement On John Stones?
City signed Stones for a fairly monstrous transfer fee in the summer of 2016, and it’s safe to say that he’s struggled to kick on at the Etihad Stadium since that move. The Englishman’s time on the pitch as a City player has been riddled with inconsistent performances, and the lack of trust that Guardiola has shown in him further highlights this fact.
The former Everton centre-half has featured in 12 league games this season, and his statistics from those fixtures display exactly why Pep is on the lookout for a new defender. The 25-year-old has averaged just over a tackle a game in the Premier League this term, but more worryingly, he only makes 0.1 blocks every game. This means that in ten league starts this term; the Englishman has made just one block.
Holgate, on the other hand, averages 1.6 tackles per league fixture and has made one block in every other game. Not only does this showcase the youngster’s defensive quality, but also his willingness to work for the cause at hand. Also, while Stones makes an interception only once every other game, Holgate averages one every time he steps onto the pitch. All of this proves beyond a doubt that Mason Holgate is a better Premier League defender than John Stones if we go purely by stats and discount everything else.
Why Pep Guardiola Must Swap Stones And Bring In Holgate.
The youngster has been nothing short of a sensation since becoming a regular in the Everton side under Carlo Ancelotti. The former Barnsley defender has managed to keep Michael Keane out of the Everton side, and that alone should be enough to prove his credentials.
City have undoubtedly struggled with injuries all through the campaign, but Fernandinho’s performances in a centre-half role have patched things up to a certain extent. Signing a player of Holgate’s quality would be a good solution to Guardiola’s current conundrum, and if he’s able to offload Stones in the process as well, it would be a decent deal from City’s point of view.
