Mason Holgate is on the verge of a deal with Qatar Stars League team Al-Gharafa
Mason Holgate looks on during The Unity Cup match between Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago at Gtech Community Stadium on May 27, 2025 in Brentford. The defender, who left Everton at the end of June, appears set for a move to Qatar. Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
Mason Holgate looks on during The Unity Cup match between Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago at Gtech Community Stadium on May 27, 2025 in Brentford. The defender, who left Everton at the end of June, appears set for a move to Qatar. Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
Former Everton defender Mason Holgate appears to be on the verge of finding a new club. The Jamaica international was one of more than a dozen senior players to leave the Blues when his contract expired last month, ending a decade-long stint on Merseyside.
He now looks set for a move to Qatar, with Al Gharafa SC sharing promotional images of the 28-year-old touring the club and meeting prospective teammates.
The club, which finished third in the Qatar Stars League last season, posted a video of Holgate at its headquarters on Instagram along with the caption: “Mason Holgate arrives at Al Gharafa Club ahead of joining Al Gharafa.”
Should the deal be finalised, Holgate will join a squad that includes Joselu, the former Stoke City and Newcastle United striker who emerged as a Champions League hero for Real Madrid in 2024.
The 35-year-old scored two late goals in the semi-finals to help Real overcome Bayern Munich on the way to a 15th success in the tournament. That summer he was part of the Euro 2024-winning Spain squad before moving to Qatar.
Former Coventry City and Cardiff City midfielder Aron Gunnarsson also plays for Gharafa.
Holgate made more than 100 Premier League appearances for the Blues after joining from Barnsley as a teenager in 2015.
He became a first team regular and earned a new five-year deal in 2020 as he impressed under Carlo Ancelotti - to the extent there were claims Manchester City were considering a move.
His role diminished under Sean Dyche and he spent the past two seasons on a succession of loan spells - in the top flight with Sheffield United and in the Championship with Southampton and, last season, West Bromwich Albion.
His final appearance for Everton was from the bench on the opening day of the Premier League season last August when he was brought on in the 3-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion after Ashley Young was sent off.
The decision to give academy talent Roman Dixon a senior debut at Tottenham Hotspur the following week, ahead of Holgate, felt telling and he then moved to West Brom, where he made 27 appearances.