Everton begin summer rebuild as Coady and Vinagre depart

Everton’s summer clear out is under way after they confirmed Conor Coady and Ruben Vinagre will return to parent clubs Wolves and Sporting respectively.

The Toffees reportedly had an option to sign Coady permanently for £4.5m but have opted against the deal.

The 30-year-old made 25 appearances for the club in all competitions, including in Sunday’s nerve-shredding win over Bournemouth that secured the Toffees’ Premier League status.

Vinagre meanwhile made just two appearances in the Carabao Cup and sat out the final few weeks of the campaign through injury.

Everton Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, said:

“We want to sincerely thank Conor and Ruben for their impeccable professionalism and valuable contributions both on and off the pitch during their time with the Club.

“We wish both players the best in their futures.”

Coady was a regular under Frank Lampard but was dropped four games into Sean Dyche’s reign, with the Bournemouth match his first start since the defeat by Aston Villa in February.

The England international played part of a back three, which is where he is most comfortable. But it is a formation Dyche does not really use and was effectively forced on him on Sunday because all his full-backs were injured.

I can understand the logic in signing him for a relatively modest fee, especially with the leadership he brings to the dressing room. But I can also understand why Dyche would rather bring in his own players as he looks to rebuild the squad, particularly given Coady’s age.

Vinagre meanwhile endured a pretty disastrous season. He struggled with injury at times but even when fit he never came close to the first-team.

Again it seemed a logical move at the time - Everton needed left-back cover and Thelwell knew him from his time at Wolves. But it just never worked out.

Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images for Bursty

With Yerry Mina also leaving the club on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract, Dyche has a rebuilding job to do in defence.

James Tarkowski is undisputed first choice, but question marks remain over Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey.

I suspect Keane may stay given the close relationship he was with Dyche from their time at Burnley, but Holgate will likely be made available for transfer after a difficult few years.

Godfrey is another who has failed to kick-on after a promising first season in 2020-21, though there are mitigating circumstances. He suffered from long Covid at the start of the 2021-22 campaign and never really gained full fitness. Then on the first day of 2022-23 he broke his leg and was out for three months.

The former Norwich player was also regularly deployed at full-back, which is not his natural position and understandably led to patchy results.

One player who will likely come into contention is Jarrad Branthwaite, who enjoyed a successful season on loan at PSV Eindhoven.