Ipswich Town loanee Luke Garbutt has impressed under Paul Lambert so is his time at Premier League Everton over at last?
Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert has admitted to the East Anglian Daily Times that Everton loanee Luke Garbutt could seal a permanent move to Portman Road as early as January.
A 26-year-old left-back who joined The Toffees a decade ago from Leeds United, Garbutt’s Goodison Park career has looked over for some time now.
He hasn’t made a single appearance in the famous blue shirt since Roberto Martinez was at the helm all the way back in 2014/15, spending the last four years embarking upon a series of loan spells up and down the UK.
But after failing to impress at Wigan or Fulham, Garbutt is making up for lost time at League One promotion-chasers Ipswich. The former England U21 international has even scored four goals so far, an average of one every three games – not bad for a full-back.
And Ipswich, it seems, would be happy to keep Garbutt around for the long haul with a permanent move potentially on the cards next month.
“We could do (sign him in January) because Luke really enjoys it here, playing in front of big crowds every week,” said the former Aston Villa and Norwich City coach.
“I think Lee is talking to Everton already because Luke has done great. We’re really happy with his contribution since he’s been here.”
Garbutt is out of contract in the summer of 2020 so Ipswich will be hopeful that Everton would be willing to let one of their longest-serving players go for a cut-price fee.
In quotes reported by the EADT, Garbutt admitted that he was loving life in Anglia so a permanent switch appears to suit all parties down to the ground.
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