Ben Godfrey - Defender
On 5th October 2020, Everton announced the signing of Ben Godfrey from Norwich City on a 5 year deal.
Broadly regarded as one of his country’s brightest prospects, Godfrey captained England Under-21s on his full debut in September 2019 and had five caps before completing his switch to Goodison Park.
The 22-year-old centre-back conclusively grasped his Norwich City opportunity when handed a starting spot midway through the club’s 2018/19 Championship promotion campaign.
Godfrey never relinquished his position, playing every minute of Norwich’s closing 26 matches – winning 15 and drawing nine – as the team from Carrow Road ran away with the title.
He played 30 Premier League matches on Norwich’s top-flight return in 2019/20, the player’s growing status illustrated when he was named skipper for two games early in the season.
Godfrey graduated through the youth programme at hometown club York City and made his senior debut aged 17 in a League Two game against Yeovil Town in August 2015.
He scored his first senior goal in a meeting with Plymouth Argyle three months later.
Equally comfortable as a deep-lying midfielder – where he played most of his 15 games for York – Godfrey was signed by then Premier League Norwich on his 18th birthday in January 2016.
He came off the bench for his Norwich debut in a League Cup tie with Coventry City early in 2016/17 and promptly blasted in a strike from 20 yards for his first goal for the club.
Godfrey advanced his development with a loan move to Shrewsbury Town for 2017/18. Operating exclusively in midfield, he played 40 League One matches, scoring once, as Shrewsbury finished third to qualify for the play-offs.
Godfrey returned to Norwich for 2018/19 to become a fixture for cup games before beginning his unbroken run in the side when he started a last-minute victory over Bolton Wanderers. He played twice for England’s Under-20 team at the back end of the campaign.
Godfrey’s England Under-21 debut came as a substitute in a European Championship qualifying win in Turkey in September 2019. Three days later he captained the side to a 2-0 victory over Kosovo at Hull City’s KCOM Stadium.
Godfrey scored his first international goal when England Under-21s won 2-1 in Austria two months before he left Norwich for Everton.
At the end of the 2020-21 season, Ben was awarded 'Young Player Of The Season'.
Contracted until: June 2025.
Source: Everton FC
