Everton News

Defender nears Everton exit, Wales manager reveals he ‘has got a lot of offers’

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Ashley Williams is expected to leave Everton this summer after falling out of favour under Marco Silva. The 34-year-old is out of contract in a matter of weeks and isn’t close to putting pen to paper on an extension. Williams hasn’t played for Everton since March 2018 and spent last season on loan in the Championship.

The Welsh international doesn’t appear to be considering retirement, however, and “has got a lot of offers” from clubs to weigh up this summer, according to Wales manager Ryan Giggs. As per Wales Online, the national team boss said: “I’ve spoken to Ash about this. He’s got a lot of offers and opportunities. I’m not going to tell you what they are.”

“He’s excited for the next challenge and he enjoyed it last year because he was playing and playing regularly towards the back end of the season. That’s all footballers want. That will be top of the list on whoever he chooses – playing regularly.”

Williams was at Stoke City last season and made 37 appearances in all competitions for the Potters, scoring and creating two goals. Although Giggs didn’t disclose what clubs were interested in the centre-back, Williams may struggle getting any Premier League interest this summer. He’s been on the periphery since 2018, making only five top-flight starts since last year.

With Michael Keane, Phil Jagielka and Yerry Mina for competition in defence, and Everton looking to bring Kurt Zouma back to Goodison Park, there’s little reason to extend William’s contract for another season. The Toffees have been linked with a number of centre-backs in recent weeks – Diego Llorente of Real Sociedad, Pedro Alvaro of Benfica and Juanpe Ramirez of Girona – which suggests they’re looking past the Welshman.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.