Fulham sealing a loan move for this out of favour Everton youngster would solve a key issue for Ranieri

Why a loan move for Everton’s Mason Holgate would be fantastic for Fulham

Mason Holgate has fallen far down the pecking order in the Everton defence. The arrival of Yerry Mina and Kurt Zouma means that for Holgate to start a premier league game for Everton, it would take a couple of simultaneous injuries to these centre-halves.

Now behind Phil Jagielka and Michael Keane as well, the 21-year-old should be eager to find a loan move to get more playing time and develop as a player.

An old-fashioned English defender, he can fill in at right-back as much as he can play as a central defender. Extremely calm and collected on the ball, he rarely makes mistakes and holds onto the ball well.

With that said, he is a proper no-nonsense centre-half who will clear the ball at any and every opportunity. While he is capable of the odd cute skill to help his team break out from the back, he has never been wasteful or indecisive – be it on or off the ball. He also has an amazing cross-field pass, which Everton have often utilised.

Mason Holgate is probably one of the best-suited centre-backs for this current Fulham outfit. Claudio Ranieri has had various injury concerns at the back since taking over at Craven Cottage. Currently deploying Calum Chambers, arguably their best centre-back in the holding midfield role, Ranieri is left with a rather flimsy looking defence line.

While Alfie Mawson, Maxime Le Marchand and Tim Ream are viable options, the fact that they have the worst defensive record in the top-flight will not fill Ranieri’s mind with optimism.

Looking at the transfers that Fulham conducted over the summer, it’s quite clear that owner Shahid Khan is after free-flowing attacking football. The purchases of players like Andre Anguissa, Jean Michael Seri and Andre Schurrle highlight this fact.

With that said, Seri tends to take up the central midfield role in the hope of transitioning the ball quickly while using his quick feet to move the ball and his team forward. The problem for Fulham has been the link between the defence and the midfield. While it seems to be a little better when they attack, the spaces in between Fulham’s midfield and defensive lines are being exploited.

Mason Holgate could be the solution to this. Moreover, we’ve seen Denis Odoi fill in at right-back in recent games for Fulham and get demolished. Holgate’s versatility will start to shine through if played in this role as well.

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Quick on his feet and obvious footballing know-how added to the intelligence and range of passing he possesses could be what Fulham need to get the best out of some real top quality talent in Seri, Ryan Sessegnon, Luciano Vietto and Schurrle. The out of favour Everton youngster could be the man to drive this extremely talented Fulham team in the right direction.