Everton have officially announced that Ben Godfrey has become their fifth signing of the summer after completing his capture for an undisclosed fee on Monday night. The Toffees have also revealed that the English centre-back has penned a five-year contract that will expire in the summer of 2025 (via evertonfc.com).
Godfrey’s Impressive Numbers At Carrow Road Recently
The York-born defensive ace has already made three appearances for the Canaries in the EFL Championship and has kept one clean sheet in the process. Godfrey was also an important member of Daniel Farke’s Norwich side in the previous campaign. He was involved in 33 matches for the Norfolk outfit last season, picking up three yellow cards and one red card across all competitions.
Despite suffering relegation from the Premier League with the Canaries in the last term, the English centre-half deserves some plaudits for performing at a high level as he averaged 0.7 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 4.9 clearances and 1.2 blocks per game in the English first division. He was even an accurate distributor of the ball as evident from his pass completion rate of 87.9% in league football (stats via whoscored).
Godfrey will be happy for getting a chance to return to the Premier League as an Everton player, especially after the Toffees’ dream start to this campaign. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are sitting pretty at the top of the league table heading into the international break, so he might find it challenging to earn regular game time at Goodison Park this season.
What Will The English Defender Add To Carlo Ancelotti’s Team?
Godfrey is often quick to read the danger and takes a no-nonsense approach when defending the opposition inside his half. He is not afraid to clear his lines when under pressure from the opponent but needs to make more interceptions if he wants to become a success story at Merseyside in the years to come.
The 22-year-old has plenty of time in his hands to develop himself into a class act in defence, but the lack of first-team chances would hamper his progress at Goodison Park. At the same time, Godfrey could give Everton an edge in the cup competitions and might help them win a trophy in the coming seasons. He is primarily a centre-back but is versatile enough to fill in as a defensive midfielder if required.
Godfrey will undeniably bolster Ancelotti’s squad depth and would also increase competition for the likes of Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate at Goodison Park in the future. At 22, he has his peak years ahead of him, so the Toffees head coach might fancy his chances of nurturing him into a top talent over the next few years.
