Everton’s Reece Welch is likely to return to the club after a disastrous loan move that has been ended by the bankruptcy courts.
The 21-year-old has been at the club since the age of 7 and was widely regarded as one of the more talented centre back prospects having appeared at several England youth levels, most recently in the u20s back in 2022. After an unsuccessful loan at Forest Green, in which the club tumbled out of the Football League entirely and bizarrely appointed Troy Deeney as manager, this year’s move was key for the young prospect.
However, despite links to several clubs in the English pyramid Welch instead ended up at little-known Belgian second tier side KMSK Deinze. With just two appearances under his belt all season he has now seen the club fold completely, releasing many of their star players and withdrawing from the league entirely.
Having joined the side in August, it took several weeks for Welch to make an appearance for the club. At the time the club was already in dire straits. Singapore-based owners ACA Football Partners had walked away from the club and there were claims players had not been paid since September.
The club looked to have been saved when Luxembourg’s ADA Group, led by Doudou Cissé, attempted to rescue the club but they were unable to meet financial commitments and the Deinze were subsequently declared bankrupt by a Ghent court. The team has withdrawn from the league and several stars have already departed, including Marselino, who joined Oxford United.
It seems Welch will also be returning to Everton, who may decide to end him out on loan again for the remainder of the season. The defender now faces an uncertain future at the club and will be running out of chances to impress the new owners before his contract expires in the summer.
The move will be extra disappointing for the club as they are lacking depth at centre half. Michael Keane’s contract is up in the summer, while Mason Holgate will not be offered a new deal when his contract expires. It leaves Jarred Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Jake O’Brien as the club’s only options. In the u21s Eli Campbell is enjoying a successful loan at Ross County but is more of a left back than a natural centre half, while Will Tamen’s move from Burton Albion started well but has been hit with injuries. He has not appeared for the u21s for several months.
Youngsters Aled Thomas – a Welsh youth international – and Bradley Moonan have also appeared for the u21s this year but will not be ready for first team football next season, leaving recruitment to be done at the heart of Everton’s defence.