According to a report from The Sun on Sunday (23/12; page 61), Leeds United are monitoring the situation of Everton defender Mason Holgate. Earlier this month, reports from the Liverpool Echo came out that the Toffees are looking to send Holgate on loan and he has been asked to find a new club in January.
The 22-year-old centre-back has found chances few and far between this season as Marco Silva made some significant deals in the transfer market by acquiring the likes of Kurt Zouma and Yerry Mina. Along with that, the Portuguese manager has Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka at his disposal. Therefore, we don’t see Holgate finding a lot of game time at Everton this season.
The English defender hasn’t made an appearance for the Merseyside club since September and moving to the Championship to get some much-needed game time would be the right ploy for his overall growth. Leeds United are currently leading the table in the Championship and looks all set to finally end their more than a decade-long stint in the lower divisions of English football.
Marcelo Bielsa might have played down (Leeds Live) any talk of major moves in the January transfer window but the squad has been ravaged with injuries of late, and Samuel Saiz is also set to join Getafe officially in the next few days. Therefore there are some areas where the Whites should look to strengthen.
Centre back is one of the positions they need to add some reinforcements as currently, Kalvin Phillips (a midfielder) is playing in the heart of the defence. This is not the first time this season that the West Yorkshire outfit are playing with a makeshift defender. Bielsa even turned right back Gaetano Berardi into a centre-back at the start of the season.
It’s clear that Bielsa wants to have defenders who can carry the ball from the back and are comfortable on the ball but somewhere down the line he might get caught out playing with too many players out of position.
Holgate would bring much-needed depth to the squad, and his experience of playing in the English top flight should come in handy. The 22-year-old has decent pace and can even fill in as a right back when required. The former England u-21 player has all the qualities which Bielsa needs from a defender, and he can be the perfect addition for the Whites.
However, the likes of Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi are set to be back somewhere around late January so it would be unlikely that Holgate would move to West Yorkshire if he doesn’t get regular game time. Given Bielsa’s adamant nature and trust in youth players, we doubt that he would look to pull off this move when the Whites would be close to having all their centre-backs fit.
