Everton are yet to exercise their option to buy Conor Coady but look set to do so when they believe the time is right.
Coady is currently on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a season-long deal that gives the Blues the chance to sign the centre-back on a permanent basis for a reported fee of around £5m. It is widely expected Everton will take advantage of that clause. But with no imminent deadline it may well be a move that is turned to after the January transfer window.
Blues boss Frank Lampard is a huge a fan of the player and what he brings both on and off the pitch. Coady’s influence has already seen him wear the captain’s armband since moving to Merseyside.
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Coady has been a mainstay of Everton's starting line-up since his shock move to Goodison Park in August. Lampard’s priority over the summer was to create a more resilient defence less prone to injury after last season’s relegation battle was undermined by the loss of key players. He struck first for James Tarkowski and later for Coady - a move that proved crucial with talks already advanced as the Blues lost both Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey to long-term injuries on the opening day of the campaign against Chelsea.
Coady slotted straight into the team for the following game at Aston Villa and has been there since. While Lampard has praised his performances on the pitch, the 29-year-old has emerged as a dressing room leader off it. He is part of an influential player leadership team and, with Tarkowski, is referred to by junior players as ‘dad’. The terms of Coady’s deal meant Wolves had no opportunity to recall him when manager Bruno Lage was sacked and his return to Molineux looks highly unlikely.
Asked about whether Everton were about to secure his permanent signature, Lampard said ahead of the Boxing Day home clash with Wolves: “Conor has been brilliant since he has been here in every possible way so I and we would love to make that permanent at some point. That is not happening right now but we will keep looking at that one.”
Coady will be ineligible to face his parent club on Boxing Day but will likely return to the first team for the match at Manchester City days later. The terms of the deal mean the Blues are under no immediate pressure to exercise their option to buy and, with finances tight ahead of a transfer window, the club look set to return to the deal later in the season - a position unlikely to change unless a need emerges to free up the loan space currently taken up by the Coady agreement.
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