'Nothing Quite Like Everton'Brendan Galloway is targeting a fresh start with the Blues after returning from his season-long loan spell at West Bromwich Albion. And the defender says his time away from Goodison has made him appreciate there is “nothing quite like Everton”.
Galloway moved to the Hawthorns last August but played only five times during his stint with the Baggies.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis described Galloway as a “pleasure to work with” but opportunities ultimately proved limited in the left-back position for the 21-year-old.
Galloway will go away on his summer’s break and return to Finch Farm in July, determined to build on an Everton career which has seen him make 21 competitive first-team appearances.
“It was a tough season and I learnt a lot,” Galloway told evertonfc.com. “I experienced something different but now I’m happy to be back.
“It was frustrating [not to play more games] but I learnt a different style of football, completely different to here. As a young footballer, you need to learn other aspects to your game. The lads were all brilliant and I made a lot of friends there - they welcomed me and they are all good footballers and good people.
“I learnt how to deal with not playing, which was very hard, but I’m happy to be back here. It is tough because as a young boy all you want to do is step out on to that pitch but when you are not able to, it gets frustrating.
“It was a tough year but walking back into Finch Farm and seeing all the lads has really made me happy. Now you’ve experienced something else, you realise there is nothing like Everton.
“Experiencing another Premier League football club and coming back here, you realise every single one of us is in a fortunate position. We’ve got to work hard to stay here and maintain that level that the gaffer wants.”
Galloway was granted permission to return to Everton for the final couple months of last season and play for the Under-23s team in their successful bid for the Premier League 2 title.
He featured in April’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park before suffering a hamstring injury.
The former MK Dons man, who joined the Toffees in 2014, is expected to be back fit for the start of pre-season where he aims to lay down a marker.
“I really want to push on and play now, get back playing in that Blue shirt and doing my best for the team,” added Galloway.
“I’ll spend some time with my family and then get back into it. I’m already looking forward to the pre-season trips, the pre-season games and having a good season.
“When you are in the off-season it gets quite boring after a while. You want to be running, kicking a ball, back with the team. A few weeks’ break is good, to get some sun with the family, and then come back and work hard.
“I have spoken to the manager [since I returned] but because of my injury, we’ll have a good chat when I come back. I worked with him last pre-season and I’m really looking forward to working with him again.”
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