Everton should not look to offer Yerry Mina a new contract at the Merseyside club and must seek to get rid of him once his current deal expires at the end of the season.
That’s according to talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor, who was asked by Football Insider whether the Colombia defender has done enough to warrant a new deal at Goodison Park.
In response, the former Aston Villa striker gave a rather emphatic verdict advising the Toffees against such a move.
Agbonlahor sounds Mina contract warning
When asked if Everton should hand Mina a new deal, Agbonlahor said: “No, I don’t think so. Managers have got ruthless now and they have to be.
“If players are injury prone, you’ve got to get rid of them. It’s not a friendly place to be as a manager, you have to do what is best for the club. You need fit, on form centre-halves at all times. You will want to sign ones that are not injured all the time.
“Yerry Mina’s always injured, he’s no good to the club when he’s injured. When you look at his injury record it would make no sense to offer him a new contract.”
Agbonlahor could be right
The Toffees signed the defender from Barcelona in 2018 in a deal worth £28.5m. Since then, the Colombian has made 92 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions, scoring seven goals along the way.
As Agbonlahor mentioned, though, the centre-back has endured numerous injury issues during his time at the club, including an ankle problem which is currently ruling him out of action.
In terms of what he’s done on the pitch whenever he’s been fit enough to play, the 28-year-old ended the previous Premier League campaign with the lowest average of clearances per game (2.8) of any centre-back at Everton.
Bearing in mind how Mina is currently the highest earner at the club with a wage of £120k-per-week according to FBref, having such an unreliable player being the best-paid footballer at Goodison Park would surely make a potential exit for him in the summer a financially prudent move from the Everton hierarchy.
A summer exit for the defender might also please any Toffees fans who have lost patience with the Colombian over his rather unenviable injury record.
