Ipswich Town are close to completing the loan signing of defender Ben Godfrey from Atalanta.
Nothing has been completed but a deal is expected to be reached that will see the 26-year-old move to Portman Road for the second half of the 2024-25 season.
Godfrey joined Atalanta from Everton in the summer but has made just five substitute appearances in all competitions this campaign.
Everton initially received a €10million (£8.46m) offer from Atalanta in June for the defender, a verbal proposal which fell below the club’s asking price, but with Godfrey keen for regular game time, they ultimately chose to sanction a sale.
However, he has played just once in Serie A, a 22-minute outing against Lecce back in August, and has been unable to break into the starting lineup of the side leading the Italian title race.
The versatile defender, capable of playing at right-back or centre-back, made 112 Premier League appearances across spells with Everton and Ipswich’s East Anglian rivals Norwich City. Godfrey spent four years at Norwich and was part of the side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2018-19.
Ipswich have been without the similarly versatile defender Axel Tuanzebe since he sustained a long-term hamstring injury in November. The 27-year-old has featured at both right-back and centre-back since joining the club in September 2023.
Godfrey began his career at York City and was capped twice by England in 2021.
Ipswich are 18th in the Premier League, one point behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th.
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