Confirmed: Mason Holgate to West Brom

Mason Holgate has plenty of talent, he’s also utterly mistake ridden and at 22, seems no closer to figuring out the mental side of the game. In this respect he is falling behind first team players like Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ademola Lookman and even loanees like Nikola Vlasic. With this is mind, Sky Sports confirming that he is being loaned out to Championship side West Bromwich Albion, pending a successful physical.

Given recent failed Everton defender loan outs such as Tyias Browning, Brendan Galloway, and Ashley WiLOLiams, taking on a center back that can’t cut it hear seems to be a bit of a poisoned chalice of late, and I am not sure West Brom will do any better with Holgate.

Fortunately for the Baggies, they are already doing very, very well this season- pressing hard for an automatic promotion back to the Premier League. Currently, WBA have the best goal differential in the Championship mostly on the back of scoring more goals than anyone else. If they can solidify their defense we should see them back in the top flight next year.

At West Brom, Holgate would be joining Ahmed Hegazi, Craig Dawson, Kyle Bartley, and Tosin Adarabioyo at center back, with the first three already playing very regular minutes. The pairing of Hegazi and Dawson is going to be difficult to break into, as both players are more experienced than Holgate and have already produced fair results together.

This is a massive moment in Holgate’s career. If he becomes first choice for West Brom as they gain promotion, it could be a sign that he is finally ready to be a consistent top flight player. If he finds himself buried into the rotation, well, it’s probably time to cut our losses.

I for one anticipate that the latter will be the case.