West Brom tipped to sign £3.8m ex-Sheffield United and Southampton ace

West Brom loanee Mason Holgate has urged the club to sign him permanently following a successful first half of the campaign away from parent club Everton.

The versatile defender has had a retched time with injuries over recent years but he’s finally back in strong form and playing regular football. Minutes were gradually increased during a loan spell at Sheffield United last campaign but confidence was low as the Blades conceded bucket loads of goals before being relegated to the Championship.

A loan at Southampton before that was just as painful but in a different sense as Holgate accumulated just 290 minutes in the Championship and a further 180 in the FA Cup. Having been a regular starter for Everton in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons ahead of a serious anterior cruciate ligament tear in 2022, becoming a player unable to get in a Championship side regularly must’ve been demoralising.

Albion have since helped Holgate put his difficult days behind him, though, and the 28-year-old is mightily grateful for the support. Carlos Corberan utilised the defender at centre-half but he’s also capable of filling in as a right-back if the ever-so reliable Darnell Furlong needs a rest at any stage.

“I’m on loan at West Brom until the end of the season, so I just want to play as much football as possible and put myself in the shop window,” Holgate, currently worth £3.8 million as per Transfermarkt, told SportsBoom.

“The last couple of years have been a bit tough for me personally. I’ve been injured a lot, I tore my ACL two years ago and didn’t play when I came back, so I went on loan last year (to Southampton and Sheffield United).

“Hopefully I get an opportunity to stay here and go up. That’s the ideal plan, but if not, then I just want to enjoy playing regular football, it’s especially tough when you’re not playing. That’s what it’s all about. I’ve not played a lot for a couple of seasons, so to be back out there playing regularly is obviously something I’m really enjoying. I want to keep doing that."

Mason Holgate wants Premier League football with West Brom

Promotion via the play-offs is the ultimate goal for Albion this season – to go those steps further from the semi-final disappointment against the Saints last term. Corberan so nearly got the Baggies back to the promised land; can Mowbray?

“I’d bite your hands off now if I scored the winning goal and we won promotion. Not even the scoring bit, I’d take going up above everything else,” Holgate admitted.

“I think it’s something we’re capable of as a squad, the quality is there, but it’s about getting those wins on the board and hopefully we can benefit from that.”