Luke Garbutt is on loan at League One Oxford United after failing to make the grade in the Premier League with Everton.
It was not long ago that Luke Garbutt looked like the long-term successor to Leighton Baines at Everton. But the departure of Roberto Martinez in 2016 hit the left-back hard and saw him tumble immediately down the pecking order and into obscurity.
These days, 25-year-old Garbutt is on loan at Oxford United in the third tier of English football, and the fact that he cannot even get into their starting XI right now sums up how far he has fallen in the last two years.
Garbutt has not featured in any of Oxford’s last six League One games and has been left out of the squad altogether on two occasions.
Speaking to the Whitney Gazette, the former Wigan and Fulham loanee has admitted that he is desperate to force his way back into manager Karl Robinson’s plans, with the U’s set to face off against Wycombe Wanderers in the Checkatrade Trophy on Wednesday.
“It’s hard sitting out not playing, I don’t like that, but obviously the results have picked up and the defence has done well,” Garbutt said.
“From my point of view trying to get back into the team has been difficult, so this week I just need to use as my opportunity to get some more minutes and hopefully impress the manager.”
Garbutt is under contract at Everton until 2020, but it seems inevitable that he will not last until then.
The Toffees signed Lucas Digne from Barcelona in the summer and, with Baines still at Goodison Park albeit playing a reduced role, it seems unlikely that the Harrogate-born left-back will be given the chance to kick-start his Everton career.
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