Ben Godfrey was spotted turning out for the Everton U21s amid links to the likes of Rangers and Spurs.
The 25-year-old defender started for the Everton youth side in a friendly clash with Athletic Bilbao alongside fellow first-teamers Michael Keane and Seamus Coleman.
Ben Godfrey also played the entire 90 minutes in the eventual 1-0 win, with Everton talent Lewis Dobbin scoring the only goal of the game.
The centre-back has only made one Premier League appearance this season, coming off the bench with a minute to play against Sheffield United at the start of September.
Ben Godfrey’s only other game for the Everton top team came in the EFL Cup, where the ex-Norwich City defender played the entire match in a 2-1 victory over Doncaster.
Rangers linked to Ben Godfrey
Rangers are one of several clubs who were linked with a move for Ben Godfrey via online outlet 90min.
The report claimed that not only were Rangers monitoring the situation of the defender – who has two caps for the England national team – but so where a quarter of the Premier League.
Newcastle United, Spurs, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Burnley are all said to be interested in the centre-back as they look maintain their homegrown quota.
Contracted to Goodison Park until 2025, the links also come at an interesting time for the Toffees with the club deducted 10 points due to breaches of FFP rules.
Everton face financial challenges
That points deduction has Everton 19th in the Premier League table and now looking like big Championship relegation candidates.
Sean Dyche has a big job on his hands to haul the club out of the relegation zone but don’t bet against the ex-Burnley manager pulling off the impossible on Merseyside.
The situation at Everton – where they’ve been punished for sustaining over £105m in losses across the last three years – has put the club’s transfer business firmly in the spotlight.
Deals for the likes of Nathan Patterson, who joined the club in a £16m deal from Rangers, are been poured over as Everton also go through a takeover.
Ben Godfrey isn’t getting minutes at Everton this season and it would appear for the cash-strapped club shipping out any deadwood is ultimately beneficial to the squad and the balance sheet.
But with at least five Premier League clubs keeping their eye on the centre-back, the Ibrox side might well be priced out of a deal before the bidding even starts.
