Everton have completed the signing of highly-rated defender Mason Holgate from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee.
The 18-year-old has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of former Barnsley and current Everton defender John Stones and the Toffees have beaten off interest from other Premier League clubs to sign the defender on a five-year deal.
Highly-rated
Holgate may not be the marquee signing many Everton supporters were hoping for, but the defender, who can play either at right-back or at the centre of the defence, is highly-rated and has been attracting interest from a number of Premier League clubs this summer.
It looked like Holgate would join Premier League new boys Bournemouth, after they were given permission to speak to him earlier this week. However, Everton manager Roberto Martinez said that the Toffees "did not want to lose out" on signing the 18-year-old, who he said has a "very impressive future" ahead of him.
The teenager spent part of the summer on trial at Manchester United and had reportedly attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
One for the future
Roberto Martinez told the media, in his press conference ahead of Everton's Premier League match against Southampton on Saturday, that Holgate is a "phenomenal young prospect" and can become part of a "golden generation" of young players at Goodison Park.
Martinez added that the defender's "development is going to be important" and said that it would be "interesting to see how quickly he can have an impact on the first-team."
However, Martinez does not expect Holgate to perform "straightway" in the Premier League as "that would be unfair" but he has "incredible potential" and is "one for the future rather than now."
His career so far
Holgate joined Barnsley at the age of eight and came through their academy.
He has been compared to fellow Barnsley academy graduate John Stones, who joined Everton from the Tykes in January 2013 and has gone onto become a first-team regular at Goodison Park and an England international.
However, Martinez said that the two players are "very different" and added that Holgate is a "completely different type of player" to Stones. However, their "personality, their character and focus are very similar....they are both very clear about what they want to achieve and are both leaders," Martinez added.
The 18-year-old made his senior debut for Barnsley in a 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers in a Sky Bet League One last December and went onto make 22 appearances in his breakthrough season.
He scored his first goal for Barnsley in their 5-0 win against Rochdale on the final day of last season and he also scored the winning goal against Huddersfield Town in their final pre-season friendly.