Toffees centre-half joins Tractor Boys on Loan for 2018/19 campaign
Matthew Pennington has become the latest Everton player to leave the club on loan, with Ipswich Town snapping him for the season.
The defender has been allowed to leave Goodison Park for the East Anglian side for the 2018/19 campaign, despite Marco Silva’s lack of centre-back options at present.
Everton revealed the news on their official site on Friday evening just hours before the summer transfer window slams shut for every European league.
Pennington, who was on the bench for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup triumph over Rotherham United, wanted to leave for regular first-team football due to the wealth of competition for a centre-half berth under Silva.
The 23-year-old would have been sixth choice in the pecking order, and as such wanted to go out on loan and further his professional experience.
Pennington has opted to join Ipswich with the view to picking up more starts and furthering his education in the Championship – a division he knows well from his last loan spell away.
He turned out 24 times for Leeds United last season during a season-long loan deal at Elland Road, while he has featured for Walsall, Coventry City and Tranmere Rovers over the course of the past few terms.
Pennington has made nine senior appearances for the Blues’ first team since his senior bow against Barnsley in the EFL Cup in August 2015, and is perhaps best known for his equalising goal in a 3-1 Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool in April 2017.
He leaves Goodison Park with the Toffees’ blessing, but it seems that Pennington may never have the quality – or chance – to truly prove he has what it takes to play at the highest level.
The England Under-19 international may have to leave permanently if he wants to finally settle down in one place to play his football, particularly if Silva continues to rely on those that he currently has available in Pennington’s position on the pitch.