Here are the Everton morning headlines for Tuesday, August 11.
‘It’s been madness’ - Robinson on life after Everton
Former Everton defender Antonee Robinson has opened up on his rollercoaster of a year after leaving the Toffees.
Robinson left Goodison Park to join Wigan Athletic last summer before seeing a move to AC Milan fall through in January after a heart irregularity showed up during his medical.
The 23-year-old American returned to action for Wigan following football’s resumption, only for a 12-point deduction to condemn the club to relegation to League One.
“It’s been a very strange 12 months,” Robinson told the ECHO . “I never thought any of this would happen. It’s been madness.
“It’s definitely the worst way to go down. It’s unfortunate with the team going down and the financial situation when we know a lot of lads are going to be leaving. It’s a horrible way to break up a group of lads who really get on.”
Robinson also spoke candidly about his failed move to AC Milan, which didn’t materialise because the player was unable to secure a health licence due to his heart irregularity.
“It was a tough thing to hear. It was more scary for my mum and dad, for my family, hearing I could have something wrong with my heart,” he said.
“If you’re not a cardiologist, you hear a heart problem and you’re really worried.
“But I got my head around it really quickly. It was absolutely out of my hands if it would work or not, so there was no point worrying about it not working, not being able to play or anything like that. I was just devastated to be missing games when I felt fit and healthy.”
Holgate can become ‘elite’ centre-back - Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand believes Mason Holgate can become an ‘elite’ centre-back for Everton after showing some promising form during the 2019/20 season.
Holgate became a regular starter under Carlo Ancelotti before injury curtailed his progress.
The 23-year-old made five appearances following lockdown and Ferdinand believes he has the skillset to become one of the Premier League’s top defenders.
“I’ve seen Mason play passes that eliminate four or five people out of the game - that means the player he finds is facing the back three or four of the opposing team,” Ferdinand told evertonfc.com .
“Whether that pass is over 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards, it doesn’t matter.
“If you can create more opportunities like that for your attacking players, you’re going to get more chances to score goals.
“Most centre-backs might play a lot of passes simple to the full-back – you get it, and play it to the nearest player – but the top, elite ones, where I think Mason can go, are the ones who play passes that eliminate people out of the game.”
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Everton youngster can go ‘the whole way’ - former coach
Young Everton midfielder Sean McAllister has what it takes to enjoy a successful career at the club.
That is the view of his former coach Dixie Robinson, who oversaw his development at Northern Irish side Dungannon Swifts.
Everton edged out Celtic to sign McAllister from the Swifts last summer, with the midfielder hoping to impress under-23s boss David Unsworth in the upcoming campaign.
And Dungannon’s head of youth development Robinson believes the 17-year-old has enough talent to become a fixture in the first team in the years to come.
"He's strong, quick and very brave and does a lot of work off the ball. He doesn't give defenders time on the ball. He's very versatile, has plenty of pace and was always a great listener who took things on board very well," he told the ECHO .
"I have no doubt he has all the attributes to go the whole way and I hope in the next 18 months he is pushed on.
"It would be fantastic to see him challenging to get an opportunity in first-team football at Everton."
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