Matthew Pennington has made just a handful of Premier League appearances in 14 years at Everton and now he is on loan at Championship Hull City.
Matthew Pennington has admitted to the Hull Daily Mail that he is already eyeing a permanent move to Hull City after forcing a temporary exit from Everton during the summer transfer window.
Despite featuring regularly for the Toffees in pre-season, a centre-back who joined Everton’s academy at the age of 10 still found himself well down Marco Silva’s pecking order by the time the 2019/20 season kicked off.
After spending the last two seasons out on loan at Leeds United and Ipswich Town, Pennington had no appetite for sitting on the bench or in the stands at Goodison Park.
The 24-year-old is yet to make his Championship debut since joining Hull on a 12-month deal with Reece Burke and Jordy de Wijs established as Grant McCann’s first choice defensive pairing but it seems he is already hopeful of a long-term stay at the KCom Stadium.
“I couldn’t have stayed at Everton, that was something I didn’t want to do,” Pennington said. “To come out here and get some games, that was what I wanted to do. I couldn’t ignore it, I needed to get out.
“I have been looking for it for the last couple of years, it’s not quite happened but I am definitely looking for a permanent home and who knows, that could be here but I need to show what I am about and get in the team before that can happen.”
Everton are a little short at centre-back right now after failing to replace either Kurt Zouma or Phil Jagielka, so this might have been Pennington’s last chance to really establish himself at Goodison Park after 14 years with the Merseyside giants.
The challenge now, however, is to force his way into Hull’s starting XI. The Warrington-born defender impressed alongside the excellent Ryan Tafazoli in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Preston North End and this could be the start of a bright future on Humberside.
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