Matthew Foulds 39

Following in the footsteps of John Stones, Brendan Galloway and Mason Holgate, Matty Foulds became the latest in a line of highly promising young central defensive prospects signed by Everton while still untested teenagers from the lower divisions.

Having identified him as a good prospect for the future as a 17-year-old at Bury, just months after he signed his first professional contract, the club agreed a fee for Foulds with Bury in December 2015 before officially acquiring him when the winter transfer window opened on 2nd January.

A left-footed centre-back who can also operate as a left back, the Bradford-born player fit the mould of the ball-playing centre-half favoured by then manager Roberto Martinez. 

He would only play a handful of games with the Under-21s in the second half of that season and only played a limited role in the title-winning campaign for David Unsworth's Under-23s in Premier League 2 the following season, becoming more of a regular as he established himself in the Blues' defence during 2017-18 without making the step up to the first-team, despite the need for left-sided defenders.

He was given the No 39 shirt number for the 2018-19 Season, where he played relatively few games for the Under-23s but was handed a new 1-year contract in the summer of 2019 for what would be his last year with Everton. Has was informed in May 2020 that he would be released at the end of his contract in June that year despite making more appearances than any other Under-23 player in the curtailed 2019-20 season. He never appeared for the Everton first team.

In September 2020, Foulds spent time on trial with Serie C club Como and signed a 2-year contract with the club in October and made 3 appearnaces. But less than 3 months later, he agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent. In January 2021, he signed a short-term contract with hometown club Bradford Cityand in June 2021, he agreed a 1-year contract extension with the club.

FactFile