West Brom handed transfer opportunity as former Barnsley and Sheffield United man makes candid admission

August will mark 10 years since Everton signed Holgate from Barnsley in a deal reported to be worth £2m.

He is still on the club’s books, although has fallen down the pecking order at Goodison Park in recent years.

His contract is due to expire in the summer, which is also when his loan spell at West Brom will come to an end.

Speaking to SportsBoom, Holgate has insisted he is hoping he can stay with the Baggies.

He said: “Hopefully I get an opportunity to stay here and go up [get promoted to the Premier League].

“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."

Holgate, a senior Jamaica international, was tipped for stardom during his days as a young prospect at Barnsley.

His progress has stalled in recent years, with injury plaguing the Doncaster-born defender. Loan spells at Southampton and Sheffield United failed to breathe life into his career but he has featured regularly for West Brom this term.

Sheffield Wednesday had been linked with the former Blade, but it was West Brom who wrapped up a loan deal in the dying embers of the summer window.

He said: “The last couple of years have been a bit tough for me personally. I’ve been injured a lot, I did [tore] my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] two years ago and didn’t play when I came back, so I went on loan last year.

“Unfortunately my Southampton loan didn’t go as I wanted and then I went to Sheffield United in the January, and that was difficult because of the situation the club was in and the lack of confidence in the team.

“We were not winning many games and we were conceding a lot of goals and, as a defender conceding so many goals, well someone is always going to point the finger at you.”