Atalanta have officially confirmed the signing of Everton defender Ben Godfrey on a permanent transfer. A statement on the clubs official website announced the deal:
After making Charles De Ketelaere’s move permanent, Atalanta B.C. are pleased to announce the signing of Benjamin Matthew Godfrey on a permanent deal from Everton FC. The 26-year-old right-footed centre-back joins the Nerazzurri after climbing up the ladder of English football from League Two, the de facto “ground zero” of footballing professionalism, where he made 12 appearances, all the way to the Premier League (racking up 112 caps in England’s top flight) after his stints in League One (40 matches played) and the Championship (36 appearances).
Born in York on January 15 1998, Godfrey came through the Academies of York City and Middlesbrough before making his professional debut with his hometown team, aged 17, in the 2015-2016 League Two season – in which he collected 12 caps and scored 1 goal.
He then moved to Championship Club Norwich City the following season, scoring one goal – his second as a pro – in the EFL Cup win over Coventry City.
After a one-year loan spell at League One team Shrewsbury Town, for whom he made 40 regular season appearances in the third division (scoring one goal) and played three Play-offs games, he made his return to Norwich City in the summer of 2018, collecting 69 appearances in all competitions to impose himself as a bulwark of the Canaries’ defence in the following two seasons. After winning promotion to the Premier League at the end of his first campaign, Godfrey made 30 appearances in his second year, and his maiden season in the EPL, donning the yellow shirt.
On October 5 2020 he inked a 5-year contract with Everton FC: in his four-year stint in the Premier League with the Toffees, the English centre-back collected 93 caps in all competitions.
After representing England national team at youth level with both the Under-20s (2 games) and the Under-21s (9 matches and 1 goal), he made his debut as a senior Three Lion in the 1-0 win over Austria in the friendly match held on June 2 2021.
The Percassi and Pagliuca families and the whole Club would like to extend a warm welcome to Benjamin Godfrey and wish him the best of luck in his future personal and team endeavours as a Nerazzurro.
