Sources: Everton offer Mason Holgate to rivals amid £72,000-a-week pay rise
Everton have offered Mason Holgate to rival clubs as they look to drastically cut their wage bill this summer, sources have told Football Insider.
The Merseysiders have told the defender, 26, he is free to join a new club on loan next season with Sean Dyche deciding he is one he can afford to do without.
Everton are working on finding a new home for Holgate and have offered him to Premier League teams as well as those on the Continent.
Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United have registered their interest in taking the centre-back on a temporary basis, but others have knocked him back.
One potential issue is Holgate’s wages, which are due to automatically increase this summer to £72,000-a-week.
The pay rise was inserted into the five-year contract signed by the defender in March 2020 when Marcel Brands was the Everton sporting director.
Intriguingly, Brands’ current club PSV Eindhoven are among those who have rejected the chance to take Holgate for next season.
He has struggled to make an impact under Dyche after previously being the club’s player of the year under Carlo Ancelotti.
Holgate made just nine appearances for the Toffees across all competitions in a season that saw them narrowly avoid relegation.
The centre-back joined Goodison Park from Barnsley in 2015 and has made 149 appearances for the first team during his time on Merseyside, scoring five goals and providing five assists in those outings.
In other news, Everton ready to sell two forwards with bid already rejected.