Everton will reportedly let Anwar El Ghazi return to Aston Villa once his loan deal expires at the end of the ongoing season.
According to Football Insider, Everton have decided not to sign Anwar El Ghazi on a permanent deal in the summer and will let him move back to parent club Aston Villa at the end of the season.
El Ghazi has been with Aston Villa since 2018 when he first arrived on a loan deal from French club LOSC Lille. The Dutchman enjoyed a fairly decent debut campaign in England, helping Villa earn promotion to the Premier League, following which he was signed permanently by the Midlands outfit.
While the 26-year-old has had his moments in the Villa jersey, El Ghazi has had an inconsistent spell at the club. And after he fell down the pecking order at Villa Park this term, the former Ajax starlet was shipped out on loan to Everton during the January transfer window.
However, El Ghazi has struggled to make any sort of impression since joining a troubled-Everton outfit. Indeed, the 26-year-old Aston Villa loanee has taken the field on just two occasions for Frank Lampard’s side since his move to Goodison Park.
Despite the team struggling, Lampard has been reluctant to call upon the services of El Ghazi, indicating where he stands in the plans of the manager. The Dutch winger last played for Everton in February when he came on for two minutes in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Since then, he has not featured in even one of Everton’s six matches across all competitions. With Lampard seemingly not favouring El Ghazi, the Toffees have decided not to sign him permanently when his loan deal ends.
Furthermore, the report adds that the winger, who has two caps for the Dutch national team, is unlikely to have a future at Aston Villa either once he returns from his loan stint at Goodison Park. Leon Bailey, Bertrand Traore and Emiliano Buendia are all ahead of him in the pecking order at Villa Park.
In addition, Steven Gerrard’s side are considering signing Philippe Coutinho permanently, while the Villans are also looking at Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin. So, El Ghazi is unlikely to feature prominently once he returns to his parent club from Everton in the summer. And it would not come as a surprise if Villa cashed in on him. As things stand, though, a permanent move to Everton is off the table.