Ben Godfrey left Everton to join Atalanta in summer 2024.
Since departing England, things haven’t gone well for the defender. The negativity [started almost immediately](https://sportwitness.co.uk/already-failed-player-struggling-since-leaving-everton-in-summer-labelled-as-flop-january-exit-possibility/) and hasn’t stopped for a prolonged spell since.
He failed to make an impact at Atalanta. Godfrey was subsequently loaned out to Ipswich Town and did not impress there, then he was loaned to Sheffield United.
As the defender remains out of action due to personal reasons, agent Rashid Uddin has spoken to [Virgilio](https://sport.virgilio.it/il-liverpool-non-lascera-partire-chiesa-a-gennaio-il-manager-gela-la-serie-a-rashid-uddin-in-esclusiva-932902) about how Godfrey’s Everton exit came about.
Uddin played a role in the deal, revealing that attempts were made to send the player to Atalanta in January 2024. He blamed the Toffees’ asking price for his failure to secure a transfer.
The agent told the outlet: _“The negotiations to bring Ben Godfrey to Atalanta weren’t easy. We initially tried to bring Ben to Bergamo in January 2024. But Everton’s asking price was deemed too high by the Bergamo club. In the end, Ben moved to the Nerazzurri a few months later, in July 2024.”_
Not given time to adapt from Everton system
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The agent also spoke about Godfrey’s struggles in Italy.
_“Godfrey suffered some injuries early in his Italian career. This caused him to slip far behind the other first-team players, and he never managed to reach the fitness the coach wanted.”_
It is clear that Godrey’s career has taken a turn for the worse since he joined Atalanta.
Gian Piero Gasperini was in charge when he arrived and his methods aren’t easy to adapt to. The Englishman had played in a completely different system at Everton and it was natural he would take time to adapt.
Before he could make an impact, he was excluded from the Bergamo club’s squad.
Godfrey is 27-years-of-age and has a lot of time to get back on track. Things aren’t going right at Sheffield United but it only takes a few months of things going his way for the outlook to change.