Everton defender Ben Godfrey has swiftly become an unfortunate afterthought at Goodison Park and he may beg Sean Dyche to let him quit for good in January.
The York-born powerhouse appeared to be a worthy capture at the time of his arrival back in 2020 signed by Carlo Ancelotti, having previously starred for his previous employers Norwich City, both in the second tier and in the Premier League.
Godfrey commanded a rather sizeable fee of £20m, joining the likes of James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure in being snapped up at Goodison Park during that summer window
Since then, the former Canaries defender has gone on to make 79 appearances on the blue half of Merseyside since his capture in 2020, severely hampered by injury troubles and lack of consistency in the Toffees first team.
That has unfortunately continued under Sean Dyche’s ten-month tenure at the club, with the 25-year-old defender now an unfortunate afterthought, over two years on from when he was touted as one of the best young defenders of his position and handed his England debut in June 2021.
It’s so unfortunate to see a player as talented as Godfrey fall so gracefully in such a short time and that’s certainly resulted from a lack of opportunities and confidence.
With just two years left on his current deal on Merseyside, there had even been reports over the summer (The Times, 1 June) that Dyche and co would be open to letting the one-time Shrewsbury Town loanee depart, such has been his fall down the pecking order.
While Godfrey ultimately stayed put with the likes of Conor Coady, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate all departing, the £4m-rated man has found himself on the periphery this season with Jarrad Branthwaite now a deserved regular in the team.