Matthew Pennington could leave Everton on a permanent basis in the summer amid growing interest from clubs in the Championship, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The newspaper claims that Derby and Wigan are two of the second-tier clubs that are eyeing up the 24-year-old, who spent the last season on loan with Ipswich.
Pennington only signed a three-year deal with the Toffees last summer but it is understood that he could struggle to feature for Marco Silva next season and a permanent move away from Goodison Park is now on the cards.
OPINION
Pennington struggled to play well for Leeds when he was on loan at Elland Road last season and although he has played a bit better for Ipswich, he has still ended up featuring heavily for a club that was relegated from the Championship. Everton preserved Pennington’s transfer value when he penned a new deal last year but now is the time to cash in on the 6ft 1 (transfermarkt) defender. He is 24-years-old and has only ever made nine first team appearances for Everton so the chances are that he will never be able to shine on Merseyside. Derby might be able to offer up decent money for the centre-back in the summer as they will be desperate to improve their squad after losing the play-off final to Aston Villa on Monday. If the Rams come in with a decent bid then Everton should not hesitate to accept it. Loaning him out again would be a waste of time, and potentially see the Toffees miss out on some money.