Everton’s Mason Holgate needs to ‘get out’ of the club, says Danny Mills

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former England international Danny Mills believes Mason Holgate must leave the club if he wants to find more game time.

What did he say?

Holgate started the away defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion because of the injury to Yerry Mina, whilst he kept his place against Watford as Michael Keane was rested. The 23-year-old has not been a regular for Everton and has only been seen more recently because of injuries.

In fact, Keane has started every league game, whilst the trip to the Amex was Mina’s first time missing out in the league this season. As a result of his lack of minutes, Mills believes Holgate must leave Goodison Park.

When asked if Holgate has lived up to expectations, Mills told Football Insider: “No, maybe he needs another loan spell or whatever to get out and play consistently, week in, week out.

“There’s a lot of players at Everton, they’ve brought in a lot of quality, have they performed to their best? Have they performed under the pressures that they need to do? I’m not sure many of them could say yes.”

Not a youngster anymore

Holgate is 23 now and simply has to be playing on a consistent basis, whether that be on loan or at Goodison Park. The days of settling for a sporadic role in the side and playing in the domestic cup games to gain experience have passed.

As Mills suggests, at his age he must be playing on a regular basis, especially if he has any future dreams of  making a statement to Gareth Southgate for England.

For example, players such as Keane have been regulars for teams for a number of years. Prior to his move to Merseyside, the former Manchester United man was a big player for Burnley, missing just five league games over two seasons.

Now, Keane has found his way into the England setup and become a regular at the back for Everton. Holgate could do the same, as he has proven in the past two games he is a man with quality and potential to hold is own against Premier League opposition.

His assist against Brighton and his goal and a clean sheet against Watford prove that he can be a great asset, but he needs to continue playing on a regular basis to maximise his potential.

Everton fans furious at Fabian Delph’s injury ahead of West Ham United clash

Everton fans have reacted furiously to the news that Everton midfielder Fabian Delph could be set for a spell on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring, as told by The Liverpool Echo.

It further cranks up the worries for the Toffees in their early struggles this season, as the club sits inside the relegation zone on just seven points from eight games.

As a result, the pressure seems to be continuously mounting on Marco Silva and injuries to key players such as Delph are only going to make things tougher for the Portuguese.

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The former Aston Villa man has fitted in well at Goodison Park so far, proving to be a worthy addition from Manchester City. Delph has averaged 2.8 tackles in the centre of the pitch per Premier League game, whilst averaging an impressive 5.2 long balls each fixture as well. The Englishman has also averaged 59.9 passes per league match – more than other regular midfielders such as Andre Gomes, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Morgan Schneiderlin.

However, what seems to be irritating the Everton fans more than anything is the fact his absence will keep Schneiderlin in the side for much longer. The Frenchman has had a torrid time this season and has put in displays that have produced ratings of 4/10, 5/10 and 4/10 from The Liverpool Echo in the Toffees’ last three matches – all of which have ended in defeat.

Here’s what some fans have had to say about the injury news…

Wenger, Wright & Emery feature as social media comes to terms with Arsenal defeat

Ian Wright was furious with Unai Emery after the Spaniard claimed Arsenal didn’t deserve to lose against Sheffield United on Monday night.

The Gunners scuppered their chance to climb into fourth on Monday and the defeat means they’ve gone four Premier League away games without securing a win since their opening day victory at Newcastle United.

Rather ironically, former boss Arsene Wenger, who was unceremoniously forced out of his position with the help of a global hashtag ‘Wenger Out,’ was trending on Twitter after the match – albeit aided by the fact Tuesday is his birthday – with some apparently now realising just how good they had it with the Frenchman for 22 special years.

The increasingly unpopular Emery didn’t help his case last night either, by claiming that his side deserved more against the Blades…

It’s one thing losing after a dismal display – that can be forgiven. Failing to acknowledge a poor performance, and even going as far to defend it, however, is asking for trouble.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright certainly wasn’t pleased with Emery’s choice of words…

Man Utd fans react to Declan Rice’s disappointing display for England

After enjoying an impressive year for West Ham last season, Declan Rice has quickly become a staple in Gareth Southgate’s England side in recent games.

The 20-year-old made 38 appearances across all competitions in the previous campaign, and was handed his Three Lions debut in March of this year.

His form has seen speculation linking him with a big-money move to Manchester United in the future, with The Daily Express even claiming West Ham would be putting a £100m price tag on his head.

In EURO 2020 qualifying action against the Czech Republic on Friday night however, Rice failed to really show why he is reported to be worth so much in the transfer market.

The 20-year-old struggled to impose himself on the game, and often saw the home side’s midfield overwhelm him. The Hammers prospect made no interceptions or tackles in the entire game as Southgate’s men slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat.

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After seeing Rice’s display, United fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts on their club’s reported transfer target.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted they couldn’t exactly see what the 6 foot 1 man actually brought to the table.

Some Red Devils fans revealed they felt he would be a complete “waste of money”, and would much rather see the club’s own academy prospects given a chance to shine.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Arsenal fans delighted with star duo’s contract news

Where would Arsenal be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang?

This season, the Gabon international has been far and away the Gunners’ best player, having already netted eight goals in his first eight games in all competitions.

Quite frankly, the former Borussia Dortmund man is deadly and, without him, it is hard to imagine the Emirates Stadium outfit being so far up the Premier League table.

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Alexandre Lacazette, too, is an incredibly important member of the first-team squad. He has netted twice himself this campaign, but is unfortunately unavailable at the moment due to injury. Unai Emery will be hoping he can return to full fitness as soon as possible.

The Arsenal hierarchy clearly realise their value. According to The Daily Mail, the club have opened talks with the two forwards in regards to new contracts.

And it comes as no surprise that the Gunners fans are delighted with the news.

They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Rangers fans quick to correct Michael Beale’s mistake

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Rangers made it into the Scottish League Cup semi-final on Wednesday night as they edged hosts Livingston 1-0.

The result was settled early on as Glen Kamara scored for the away side and despite Livi looking determined to make their mark on the game – in more ways than one – the Gers held firm.

Indeed, the hosts were certainly robust with their approach as they went about getting an equaliser but their attempts eventually proved fruitless and it finished with just the sole goal between the pair.

Kamara was the winner, then, with his first goal of the season – though coach Michael Beale evidently got mixed up about that fact on Twitter with him offering these congratulations to the Finnish international:

Rangers fans were certainly quick to jump on this oversight, too, with it actually being the second goal of Kamara’s Ibrox career – and just the first of this particular season.

Indeed, a number of Gers followers wasted no time in correcting Beale’s claim on Twitter…

Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren complains about two FIFA XI omissions

No, the Croatian wasn’t campaigning for himself to be inserted into the team despite saying last year that he was one of the best defenders in the world.

Instead, he argued that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson deserved a spot in the side.

It’s hard to disagree with Lovren’s opinion on this one. Liverpool conceded just 22 goals in the league last year, as well as winning the Champions League.

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The full-backs weren’t only brilliant at the back either, both men hit double figures in terms of assists in the league last term.

Matthijs De Ligt, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo all got in ahead of the Liverpool pair, and while the Dutchman had a very good campaign, the two Real Madrid stars can certainly consider themselves very lucky.

These Liverpool fans fume at Jurgen Klopp for allowing Nathaniel Clyne to leave in January

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Liverpool made the decision to allow Nathaniel Clyne to leave Anfield on loan last month, but that dubious call has already come back to bite them.

With Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold both sidelined through injury, Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Jordan Henderson and James Milner at right-back in recent weeks.

Milner has been found wanting on a couple of occasions since deputising at full-back, with his lack of pace proving problematic against electric wingers Wilfried Zaha and Felipe Anderson, and his unfamiliarity with the role has forced fans to question why Clyne was allowed to depart in January.

The former Southampton man showed promise against Manchester United on a rare start in December, but his impact wasn’t enough to convince the Liverpool boss to keep him for the remainder of the season.

On paper, Clyne is the club’s third choice right-back so his departure was understandable under the circumstances.

But the mini injury crisis which has emerged in light of his loan move to the south coast has put Liverpool in a difficult situation, forcing supporters to point accusative fingers at Klopp over the questionable decision.

Here’s what a handful of Liverpool fans on Reddit have had to say about Clyne’s departure:

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Aston Villa: Traore should start v Man Utd

Talk about a rollercoaster of a home debut. Leon Bailey came on as a second-half substitute last weekend against Everton for the first time in front of Aston Villa’s own fans and proceeded to whip in the corner which led to Lucas Digne’s own goal, as well as firing in himself just minutes later.

It was like a hurricane had blown through Villa Park such was the wave of energy that the Jamaica international created, but it was only for a fleeting few moments, with the winger later forced off through injury.

He came, he saw, he conquered, and he left – all in the space of about 14 action-packed minutes.

Since then, Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Bailey will not be available for the Premier League clash against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon due to that injury he picked up last week.

The 50-year-old will have to make some big calls on how he goes about replacing the former Bayer Leverkusen star, but one man to whom he should consider turning is Bertrand Traore.

Since arriving from Lyon last year, the Burkina Faso international has struggled to get consistent game-time but has shown flashes of the “immense talent” that Smith has hailed – his debut campaign in English football saw him manage a respectable total of seven goals and seven assists in the Premier League, albeit with a frustrating lack of consistency.

When he’s on song, he can be a tough customer for any opposition, and his performance in midweek in the Carabao Cup against Chelsea showed signs that he could be ready to make his impact.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece gave him a seven, saying: “Started on the right of a three behind Archer and the Burkinabe was dangerous. Traore had a hand in Archer’s two first-half chances, the second one a nice weighted ball into the teenage striker after running from the halfway line.

“Traore was nice on the eye and soldiered on after taking a knock to the neck in the first half. Linked up nicely with Sanson in the middle prior to the Frenchman’s withdrawal. Traore also had a couple of tame, low efforts saved by Kepa.”

Papy Djilobodji, his former teammate at Chelsea, said: “Bertrand (Traore), whom I knew in Chelsea, technically he is very, very good: with his feints, he is very hard to stop.”

The £18m-rated star could ensure that Villa don’t miss Bailey at all by delivering an eye-catching performance of his own against United on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are now tracking this 6 foot 1 “monster”…

Two clubs want Liverpool outcast Sheyi Ojo

Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo could finally seal a move away from Anfield, with Club Brugge and Olympiakos both keen on signing him on deadline day.

The Lowdown: Ojo unwanted at Liverpool

Ojo has become a forgotten man for the Reds, not playing for them since the 2016/17 season and barely having an impact with Jurgen Klopp at the helm.

Now 24, the wide man has had numerous loan spells elsewhere, including at Wolves, Fulham and Rangers.

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The Latest: European duo linked with move for Ojo

With Ojo having no chance of earning playing time at Liverpool moving forward, considering the standard of those in the squad by comparison, he could leave before the transfer window closes on Tuesday night.

According to the Liverpool Echo [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter], both Brugge and Olympiakos are eyeing up a last-minute deal to sign the English winger.

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The Verdict: Fresh challenge required

Seeing Ojo stay put at Liverpool once again wouldn’t be beneficial for anyone, with the winger at an age where he should be starting regularly for a team, or at least battling for playing time.

In truth, he never quite looked good enough to make the grade at Anfield, scoring just once at senior level for the Reds, but he will always have a lovely curled effort in front of the Kop against Exter City to remember.

In other news, another Liverpool player is set for a deadline day move. Find out who it is here.

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