Darren Bent has claimed that Mason Holgate would prefer to remain at Everton this summer, rather than return to West Bromwich Albion on loan.

The 22-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at West Brom, after falling down the pecking order at Goodison Park, and played a key role as the Baggies reached the Championship play-off semi-finals.

West Brom have made an approach to sign Holgate on another loan deal for the coming season, but Everton boss Marco Silva is currently undecided on whether to send him out again.

And, Bent believes that Holgate will want to stay at Goodison Park this summer and be a part of the Toffees squad for the coming season.

“To be fair I thought he would really kick on when he was at Everton because he was a young, quite exciting, big prospect,” Bent told Football Insider.

“For himself, he would have probably like to stick around at Everton and see if he is going to get given the opportunity to play for the football club because I don’t ever think it’s a good sign when you keep getting sent out on loan.

“You come back for pre-season, you get sent back out on loan – he probably wants to sit there at Everton, maybe bide his time a little bit, stick around the first team and hopefully get his opportunity.”

Holgate scored one goal in 21 appearances for West Brom last season and was mainly used as a right-back, although he can also play at centre-back.

The Verdict

I can understand what Bent is saying about going out on loan too many times, but I think Holgate should seriously consider joining the Baggies again this season.

He's a talented footballer, but I'm not sure he will get much of a chance for Everton in the Premier League next season, so another loan move is probably the best option for his development.

The defender could really benefit from another season in the Championship and he'd be pretty much guaranteed regular first-team football at the Hawthorns, probably at centre-back.

He did very well for West Brom last season and a top coach like Slaven Bilic should be able to get the best out of him.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.