Saints seem to be concentrating their efforts in signing defenders at the moment, after the arrival of Ryan Manning comes news of another potential new signing, this time from Everton who just beat the drop last season.

The Daily Mail are carrying a story that Southampton are linked with Everton defender Mason Holgate and that the two clubs have already been in discussions about a move to the South Coast.

Holgate who will turn 27 in October from first look appears to fit the bill that Saints fans have been crying out for, an experienced central defender and more to the point, one that has gained that experience in England and not one of the European leagues.

The Doncaster born defender started his career with Barnsley making his debut in 2014/15 and despite playing only 20 matches in League One was still voted player of the year prompting Everton to pay £1 million for him.

It was a year before he would make his debut for the club though and in the 7 seasons since, he has managed just 126 Premier League appearances, although it should be noted that he spent the latter half of 2018/19 season on loan at West Bromwich Albion where he played 19 times in the Championship, so he does have experience in this division.

After returning from the Hawthorns in the summer of 2019 he established himself in the Everton side and had three seasons where he was a fairly regular selection, in the premier League playing 27 games followed by 28 & 25.

His main problem in establishing himself in the Everton side though seems to have been his versatility, although primarily a central defender, he has also played regularly at right back for Everton and on occasions as a defensive midfielder.

However he has fallen out of favour at Goodison Park, last season he played just 8 times in the Premier League, he started the season in the centre of the defence and played in the first 4 Premier League games, but he then suffered a knee injury that kept him out for 6 weeks and after that he struggled to get in the side and was an unused sub for most of the season aside from 4 appearances in the final 2 months of the season, one of those being at left back.

According to transfermarkt.co.uk his value peaked at around £18 million in the summer of 2021 and has since steadily declined to around £8 million today.

Everton fans though do not seem to be enamoured of a player who has been at their club for 8 years now, toffeeweb.com is full of their supporters rejoicing in the hope that Holgate will be leaving the club.

Although some think that he showed much promise 2-3 years ago, most think he has gone backwards since and that if the Toffee's can get £8-10 million for a player who is under contract until 2025 then it would be very good business.

Saints seem to have competition from newly promoted Sheffield United and that could be a stumbling block, not only Premier League football. but a return to his home area of South Yorkshire.

So this one is a conundrum for Saints supporters, on paper it looks a good deal for a player who has plenty of experience etc, but the comments from Everton supporters seem to be damning and the deal reminds me of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, another player who has not quite fulfilled his potential and also suffers from being able to play in a variety of roles.

Photo: Action Images

Ifonly added 09:49 - Jul 12 When I've seen him play, live and TV, he's been the weak link. Yes, he once had promise but at 27 he should be the finished product and he's not. I can see why Saints would be interested because he's good on the ball and so can play possession based football, but as a defender he's not good enough for the PL so what's the point of signing him?
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andywelsh added 10:00 - Jul 12 Agree with Ifonly. I would prefer to retain Stephens if he is willing to stay. Splashing the cash on players who their fans believe is an underperformer seems shortsighted. There is a massive gap in quality between Premiership and Championship and some of our own underperformers may rediscover their mojos in a lower league. Adams and Armstrong scored for fun last time they were there and if we can provide decent service to them may well do so again.

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highfield49 added 10:44 - Jul 12 If, as seems likely, we're going to play possession based football there are several players on the books who need to show significant improvement. McCarthy, Stephens, Salisu, Diallo, Aribo, Djenepo, Stuart Armstrong, amongst others, often lack composure on the ball at critical moments. Nick has commented frequently on players we have signed who were square pegs in round holes etc and the fact is we have players in the squad who will fall short of Russell Martin's expectations. If there is any truth in the rumours surrounding Mason Holgate being signed I suspect it's because of how he fits specific technical requirements rather than how his previous managers have asked him to play. Many of the players surplus to needs in our current squad may well be successful when playing for a team that plays to their attributes.

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Block8 added 12:07 - Jul 12 Tend to agree with highfield49 here surely we should sign players to fit the system, rather than try to change them after signing. Adams & Armstrong both scored a lot of goals in the championship but possibly because their respective teams got the ball in the box frequently. Something we haven't done for a long time. However not sure Holgate would be too high on my list of signings but would be nice to see a player who can consistently pass accurately more than 5 yards backwards!

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Boris1977 added 19:25 - Jul 12 Just read the match report from the Benfica game earlier today. Cut and paste from the last few years. Plenty of possession, McCarthy beaten at the near post and we lost without scoring a goal. Really looking forward to the Norwich game.
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