Everton defender Matthew Pennington offered Shrewsbury Town contract after loan spell

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According to the Liverpool Echo, Shrewsbury Town have offered Matthew Pennington the chance to join permanently ahead of leaving Everton this summer.

Steve Cotterill’s side have been impressed by the manner of Pennington’s performances in League One since moving to New Meadow on loan in the January transfer window, and is keen to now see the defender stay long-term.

Pennington is out of contract at Goodison Park at the end of next month and is unlikely to be offered new terms with the club he joined aged 11, having failed to establish himself on Merseyside under a series of managers.

The 26-year-old has just nine career first-team games with Everton and has not featured for the Premier League side since April 2017, having spent time on loan with Leeds United, Ipswich Town and Hull City before joining Shrewsbury over the winter.

Five of Pennington’s Toffees outing came during the tenure of Roberto Martinez, who gave the Warrington-born enforcer his debut, before he was awarded three appearances by Ronald Koeman and one under interim boss David Unsworth.

Everton’s academy graduate found game time far easier to obtain as Shrewsbury with 19 league appearances, and fired home the goal that secured the Shrews their third-tier status in a 1-0 win over play-off contending Blackpool.

Cotterill is hopeful Pennington will now stay at New Meadow and put pen to paper on a full-time contract, but concedes that terms are yet to be agreed.

“I think Matthew Pennington has been an excellent professional since he walked through the door,” Cotterill is quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying. “He has progressed, he’s still a young boy, whether we agree on terms or not I haven’t got the answers to that yet.”

TBR’s view:

The writing has been on the Finch Farm wall for Pennington for some time, and Everton will surely be glad to offload the defender when his £19,000-per-week (Spotrac) contract expires next month, having failed to see him ever establish a first-team role over the years.

It has been abundantly clear over his several loan spells that Pennington has only ever been a lower-tier sort of player, who rightly was not afforded more opportunities to feature in the Blues’ first-team.

Pennington may feel he is at least good enough to play for a Championship side having spent time in the division with Leeds, Ipswich and Hull previously, so may not be overly keen to put pen to paper on a deal with Shrewsbury, but a new Everton contract will not be likely.