Everton’s Brendan Galloway, who is currently serving a season-long loan spell with EFL Championship side Sunderland, was expected to make a return to Goodison Park in January but the Toffees management has opted to let the defender play out the season with the Black Cats.
A temporary move to Sunderland was supposed to provide the 21-year-old with the kick-start his career needed to get back on track but instead, he has been struggling for both form and playing time at a side battling to avoid a second consecutive relegation and drop into English football’s third tier.
Galloway started the first 5 games of the season in the Championship but then has been restricted to only 2 more appearances so far. He has received only 42 minutes of game time under Chris Coleman and this might not be ideal for a young developing player. Galloway has struggled to meet the challenges of English football even after making a huge impression for the Toffees almost two years ago.
After Leighton Baines went down to an injury in the 2015/16 season, Galloway replaced him in the left-back role and showcased his talents in front of a raving crowd at Goodison. His emergence placed a serious threat to the veteran’s starting role with Luke Garbutt spending a season out on loan.
Gallow put up a scintillating display in Everton’s 1-1 draw against their Merseyside rivals that season which was the last match for Brendan Rodgers as the Liverpool boss. However, after spending a season with West Brom it looks like all the promise is starting to crumble down towards a flop ending.
When asked about his situation, the Sunderland boss said, “Brendan is a lovely kid and he has been working hard but he has lacked game time. He’s here to get game time and he is not getting it. You don’t want to waste the boy’s time, it is a critical stage for him.”
One would begin to question the manager’s words of hard work after seeing Galloway’s performance in the Rockerite jersey. Any player who is willing to work on his craft day in day out always find an outlet to express themselves and prove their worth to the managers.
Galloway has not received many opportunities on the pitch but it is only because Coleman does not trust the youngster’s composure to field him for a team who need all the help they can get at the moment. It is too soon to rule him out as a flop and it would be in the best interests of Everton to find Galloway a new club next season with a manager who favours his development.
