Joel Leads List of Released Everton Players

The Spanish goalkeeper is the only first team player to see his contract expire in July 2018.

Everton will not renew Joel Robles’ contract this season. The 28-year-old is the biggest name on the list of players set to be released from the Blues in July.

The former Wigan Athletic and Athletic Madrid goalkeeper made 42 league appearances for Everton following his arrival in July 2013.

However, he spent most of his career on Merseyside on the bench, despite a run of starts in 2016-17. He was pushed back down the depth chart last summer by the signing of Jordan Pickford.

Good time to say goodbye to Joel?

Joel was a solid option for Everton as a sub-goalkeeper, and, at first glance, this release seems to be a bit of a head scratcher. Robles has a quirky style of play, but still showed himself to be a competent shot-stopper.

He is younger than his rival for understudy too, with Maarten Stekelenburg set to turn 36 in September. According to Silly Season, Stekelenburg is also on a heftier contract, weighing in at £25,000 per week, compared for Robles’ £20,000.

It’s hard to make the argument that Stekelenburg is a better option for second choice keeper than Joel, so it seems likely that Robles left of his own accord. To this effect, the Daily Mail report that he is in talks to join Getafe, where he will find it easier to play first team football.

If this is the case, you can hardly blame the Spaniard for leaving in search of minutes. He served Everton faithfully during his tenure.

Henen heads up other exits

Several youth players will also leave Everton alongside Joel this summer. According to Transfermarkt, notable names of the list include: David Henen, Louis Gray, Steven Kinsella and Sam Byrne.

Of the group, David Henen has always been the most intriguing prospect. As noted in an article on this site back when he was signed in 2014, the player was compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

It simply hasn’t worked for Henen though, and he has been outstripped by other prospects since he arrived in England. This season, the Belgian forward managed just four goals in 15 under-23 appearances. He also had an less-than-extraordinary loan spell at Fleetwood Town in 2016, which was cut off before the end of the 2015-16 season. In short, the 20-year-old has not developed as hoped.

Henen didn’t break the bank when he was signed, so it’s hard to get upset about his Everton career. Hopefully he will rediscover his form elsewhere.

Amongst the other youth releases, there are few surprises. As mentioned in previous loan reports, Byrne and Gray did not perform well in the lower leagues, and do not look likely to become useful Premier League players.

Next: Lookman in talks with Everton about future

Steven Kinsella, who has made four appearances for the Republic of Ireland under-19s, has the most potential in the group. Still, the odds were stacked against the 19-year-old to break into the Everton side in the near future. He will look for first team minutes elsewhere.