Everton have announced the list of players they have released from their contracts, alongside those who have been offered new deals.

The list of releases is headlined by first-team stalwart Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz, with the final tally of releases reaching 12.

Luke Garbutt, who has been rumoured to be leaving the club on a free transfer, has been offered a new contract alongside the offers he has from Swansea City and Bournemouth. Garbutt has talked about getting more first-team football being the main sticking point for him to stay at the Toffees but still being behind Leighton Baines would see his game time limited again. Everton would like to keep a hold of the youngster but it could prove to be a difficult task this summer.

Loan players Christian Atsu, Aaron Lennon and David Henen have all returned to the respective parent clubs. Atsu has already agreed to join newly promoted Bournemouth, while Everton continue to look at bringing Lennon and Henen back to the club next season.

Under-21 prospects Courtney Duffus, Conor Grant, Gethin Jones, Chris Long and Matthew Pennington have all been offered new deals. These players are highly rated by Everton youth management and it is expected that all of them will return next season. Chris Long is the closest of the lot to the first team in part due to his development over the past few years.

Promising youngsters released 

Previously highly-rated midfielders George Green and John Lundtsram have also been released. Green joined Everton from Bradford City for an initial fee of £300,000, with potential to rise to as high as £2million pounds. 

Others released include Arlen Birch, Charley Edge, Curtis Langton, Ben McLaughlin and George Newell. 

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Connor Bennett
Everton editor for VAVEL UK - contributing since 2015. Premier League accredited journalist. Journalism graduate from Liverpool. Writing about Football, eSports and the NFL. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ConnorBennett14