Two senior contract decisions at Everton remain outstanding but both Seamus Coleman and Ashley Young have hinted they would be happy to stay at the club.
Director of football Kevin Thelwell announced the Blues’ retained list on the eve of the final game of the Premier League season, against Arsenal. While Andre Gomes and Andy Lonergan will depart this summer, the club confirmed Idrissa Gueye would remain one more year after an extension was triggered in his deal.
The club also confirmed it had put new contracts to both Coleman and Young ahead of a summer in which there is expected to be significant turnover in the squad even if there will be a limited budget with which to strengthen.
Should the pair stay on Merseyside it will provide Sean Dyche with a core of experience in his dressing room that should offer support on and off the pitch. While talks remain ongoing, neither player has been shy at hinting they are seriously considering signing up for Goodison Park’s final season.
Coleman said it would only be this week, now the season is over, that he would sit down and seriously think about his options. The 35-year-old thought hard before signing an extension last summer and has again dealt with injury issues over another tough season. The allure of a 16th year in Royal Blue appears to remain compelling, however.
He said: “I make no secret about it, I absolutely love the football club, I feel like I have got a duty to help the football club while I still feel I can so we’ll see where the next couple of weeks takes us… I’m enjoying it in terms of I love the football club and I’ve always said when wingers are skipping past me, I’ll understand. I play against some top wingers in training as well and I still feel competitive like I’m not getting ran past five or six times a game.
“At the minute I know I’m not going to be up and down the wing and I’m not going to be playing 38 games a season but I also know the value I bring to the dressing room because I live in the city, I understand what the football club means and I can relay those messages to the players when the going gets tough. I absolutely idolise the football club so it was just about getting these games out of the way and we’ll sit down and see what’s next.”
Young, meanwhile, has expressed similar sentiments. The 38-year-old, whose senior career started alongside Dyche at Watford, this week told talkSPORT: “My contract runs out at the end of June, but I’ve spoken to the manager and we had a quick conversation about staying for another season. It’s just now down to sorting out the final details to sort out for the next season.”
Asked if he wanted to stay at Everton, Young added: “Yeah I do. I’d love to play as long as possible, whether that’s going to be a one-year deal or two-year deal. Whatever everyone offered me, I’m always happy to sign a new contract. I enjoyed my time this season, being there with the players and staff, it’s fantastic, a massive club and I’d love to go back and play another season there.”
