FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Everton v Brentford - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - April 27, 2024 Everton's Ben Godfrey applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo
(Reuters) - Ipswich Town have signed defender Ben Godfrey on loan from Serie A side Atalanta for the rest of the season, the promoted Premier League club said on Sunday.
The 26-year-old England international has played just one league game and two Champions League games for Atalanta since joining from Everton in the close season for a fee around 10 million pounds ($12.42 million).
"We wanted to add to that area. Ben is a good player and an experienced player. That will be a good boost for us in the second half of the season," Ipswich coach Kieran McKenna said.
Godfrey previously made 93 appearances for Everton after joining the Merseyside club in 2020 from Norwich City.
"I have really enjoyed speaking to the manager and to have the opportunity to work under him now is something I’m very excited about," Godfrey said.
"I’ve watched a lot of the games from the first half of the season and you can tell from those that the group is a tight one, full of players giving everything to achieve their goals."
The centre back is Ipswich's first signing of the January transfer window as they look to escape the relegation zone, sitting 18th after their 2-2 draw with Fulham on Sunday, despite wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in the past two months.
($1 = 0.8052 pounds)
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
