Godfrey gives Everton more tactical flexibility

It seems more and more likely Ben Godfrey will become an Everton player in the next few days so what does his signing mean for the Blues tactical options?

The Norwich City and England Under-21 defender is inching closer to his move to Everton. His signing will give Carlo Ancelotti even more tactical flexibility and options going forward.

Although mainly a centre-back, Godfrey has the ability to play all across the backline and in midfield in the sort of position that new Brazilian star Allan is currently occupying.

Although he is nominally right-footed, in practice he is two-footed and is very comfortable playing on the left of a central defensive partnership.

He can also play as one of three centre-backs and this together with his ability to play in midfield gives Ancelotti a new set of options.

One of the reasons why there were some questions about this deal, is that The Toffees already have four central defenders on the books and another on loan this season in Lewis Gibson.

A short-term, season-long loan for a defender to cover for the injured Mason Holgate and Jarrad Branthwaite, seemed to make the most sense at first.

However, Godfrey is certainly a highly rated and very promising young player, so when the chance apparently came to sign him came, the club moved quickly in order to get the deal done.

With the England Under-21 star joining Micheal Keane, Yerry Mina, Holgate and Branthwaite, the Blues boss will certainly have plenty of choice at the back and improved tactical flexibility.

He has three central defenders whose strengths are their ability in the air, their strong tacking and blocking in Keane, Mina and Branthwaite.

While Holgate and Godfrey offer more pace and are both very composed and positive using the ball, although all the Blues defenders are very comfortable in possession, as Keane emphasised in the mid-week game against West Ham.

While Ancelotti is currently playing a 4-3-3 formation, which I think represents the best tactical option, he could change to playing a back three with Holgate and Godfrey operating either side of perhaps Keane, Mina or Branthwaite.

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This offers him the chance to push his full-backs further forward, which might sometimes prove a good option tactically.

This system might also help Everton better keep the ball when they are looking to control the pace and tempo of a game.

Alternatively, Godfrey could also step into Allan’s position within the current set-up and play as a midfield defensive lynchpin, either when the Brazilian is injured or possibly with a view to replacing him as his long-term successor.

That’s purely speculative on my part as Godfrey prefers playing centre-back and anyway Allan should be a shoe-in for that role for the next two or three seasons at least.

But all in all this new addition represents more astute investment in the future of the team and should further expand the choices available to the Everton manager, both now and going forward.