Everton are running out of time.

Never in the history of this distinguished football team has divisional football been contested outside the Premier League, but all that could change over the next few weeks.

The Toffees languish in 19th place in the top flight, yielding just 29 points and six victories from 34 matches, though the three teams placed above them boast just one point more than Sean Dyche's men heading into the weekend.

With imminent fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers preceding a potentially favourable finale against Bournemouth at Goodison Park, Dyche must find a balance to ensure their status is preserved.

The Blues are currently seven outings without a victory in the Premier League, last prevailing with a late winner against Brentford in March, but with four draws in this period, Dyche will be confident that a coveted triumph is forthcoming.

They will be without veteran stalwart, Seamus Coleman, however, with the 34-year-old Irishman sustaining a knee injury against Leicester City and now unlikely to feature again this term.

Who should replace Seamus Coleman?

Coleman has been a reliable presence this season and has featured 23 times in the top flight, starting 20 times after not playing across the first two months of the campaign.

As per Sofascore, the 67-cap Republic of Ireland international has been impressive this term defensively, recording an average of 1.5 tackles and one interception per match, as well as succeeding in 61% of his total duels, with former boss Frank Lampard calling him an "incredible player" last year.

However, a good worker uses the tools at their disposal, and Dyche must now utilise a new cog down the defensive right flank, and despite his recent red card, we feel Mason Holgate must be picked ahead of Nathan Patterson.

In the looming matches against Brighton and City, defensive uniformity will be paramount, and while Patterson is an exciting prospect, 26-year-old Holgate could be the better fit to adopt his captain's mantle.

Playing just seven times this term and starting on just four occasions in the Premier League, the £70k-per-week dynamo was sent off against Crystal Palace last month in the 80th minute after receiving two bookings, though he did play a role in keeping a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.

mason-holgate-everton-championship-southampton-transfers

Primarily a centre-back, Holgate has played on the right throughout his Toffees career and would bring an element of creativity across this latter phase of the campaign, ranking among the top 10% of top-level defenders over the past year for goals and the top 2% for assists per 90, while he is also among the top 17% for successful take-ons and the top 8% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

The "leader", as hailed by the Liverpool Echo's Sam Carroll, might have been a peripheral figure this term, but his average of 1.8 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 4.2 clearances in the league certainly hints that he can be an effective option, having also won 59% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.

Coleman's setback can be met with nothing but woe from the Everton camp, but with such little time remaining, slotting Holgate into the starting fold will only aid the club's efforts at cementing their status in the Premier League once again.