Holgate has earned team’s trust says Baines

Everton defender Leighton Baines says 19-year-old Mason Holgate has earned the trust of the team after an impressive debut from the right-back on Saturday.

The teenager joined the Merseyside club last summer from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee and spent much of last season with the under-21 squad.

But following the arrival of manager Ronald Koeman, Holgate was selected to start his first Premier League game in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham having impressed on pre-season tours to Austria and Dresden.

“He [Holgate] has been around us long enough and has featured heavily in pre-season, and he has handled the whole thing really well,” Baines said.

“He’s already earned the trust of the players and the manager – that’s why he was out there.

“He’s done himself the world of good with a good performance and I’m sure he’ll feature a lot throughout the season.”

Also making his Goodison Park debut in a Blue shirt on Saturday was Koeman’s first signing for the club, Dutchman Maarten Stekelenburg.

(Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images)

And the important saves he made to help Everton earn their first point of the season was not missed by Baines.

“The lads who came in for their home debut today, I thought the performances were brilliant,” Baines added.

“Maarten has probably kept us in the game at the end with a couple of saves when we were having to dig in a little bit.

“That’s what you’re hoping for every now and again from your keeper and Maarten’s come up trumps for us.”