Mason Holgate

Mason Anthony Holgate (born 22 October 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Sheffield United, on loan from  side Everton.

Barnsley
Holgate was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

At the age of nine, having progressed through the club's academy and reserve team, Holgate signed his first professional contract, keeping him at Barnsley until 2016. He made his League One debut for Barnsley on 2 December 2014, playing the full ninety minutes of a 1–1 draw with Doncaster Rovers at Oakwell. Following this, the club were determined to negotiate a longer-term contract for Holgate. After inclusion in the first team, Holgate scored his first Barnsley goal, in a 5–0 win over Rochdale in the last game of the season.

Following a successful debut season at Barnsley, Holgate was named 2014–15 Young Player of the Year. In addition to this award, press speculation linked Holgate with a number of Premier League clubs; in July 2015, he went on trial at Manchester United.

Everton
On 13 August 2015, Holgate signed a five-year deal to join Premier League side Everton for a reported fee of £2 million. On 13 August 2016, a year after he signed for the club, Holgate made his Premier League debut in the 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. After Séamus Coleman suffered a broken leg in a World Cup qualifier match in March 2017, which caused him to be missing for nearly a year, Holgate was selected by Ronald Koeman as a replacement at the right back position for the latter part of the season.

On 29 October 2019, Holgate scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory against Watford in the EFL Cup after he nodded in a cross by Theo Walcott.

Following the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, Holgate established himself as a regular centre back at Everton, although he was deployed as a defensive midfielder on some occasions. During the 2019–20 season, he made 32 appearances for the Toffees in all competition, including 27 in the league.

Holgate was injured in a pre-season game with Preston North End, which kept him out of action for two months. He was named as captain for a home game against Leeds United on 28 November 2020, a game which Everton went on to lose 1–0. On 16 December 2020, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–0 away win against Leicester City.

West Bromwich Albion (loan)
On 31 December 2018, Holgate joined Championship side West Bromwich Albion on loan until the end of the season.

Southampton (loan)
On 25 August 2023, Holgate joined Championship side Southampton on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 2 September 2023 in a 5–0 defeat to Sunderland. On 1 February 2024, his loan move was terminated early.

Sheffield United (loan)
On 1 February 2024, Holgate joined Premier League side Sheffield United for the remainder of the 2023–24 season. He made his debut two days later at home against Aston Villa, in a 5–0 defeat at Bramall Lane. On 18 February 2024, Holgate became the only Premier League player to be sent off in each of the last three seasons, when he tackled Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma with excessive force after 12 minutes, following a VAR check, after referee Stuart Attwell had initially shown him a yellow card. In his absence, Sheffield United went on to suffer another 5–0 defeat.

International career
Holgate is of Jamaican descent through his grandparents, and is eligible to represent both England and Jamaica internationally. Holgate was the starting right-back for England under-21 during the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in June 2017.

Holgate said in an interview with The Voice in March 2020 that he would be open to representing the Jamaica national team, though he had not put much thought into his international future. However, he also said in an interview to Sky Sports the same month that he wanted to be called up to England, stating: "Everybody wants to play for England. When you're a kid, that's the ultimate, but it's down to me to decide that through playing well for Everton".

Despite being born in England and his previous England caps, in March 2021 it was reported that Holgate would be called up to the Jamaica national team, as part of a policy of the Jamaican Football Federation to call up a number of English players in order to improve the nation's chances of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. JFF president Michael Ricketts said that Holgate was applying for a Jamaican passport in order to play for the side. However, he was not one of the six England-born players called up to Jamaica for the first time for the match against the United States on 25 March 2021.