Journalist Paul Brown believes Everton centre-back Conor Coady's future could be in doubt, following rumours of a contract extension for Yerry Mina.

How has Coady fared this season?

The £55,000-a-week-earning Englishman joined the Blues on loan from Wolves last summer, with the club having an option to sign him permanently this summer. Having been a key man to begin with earlier in the campaign, Coady has struggled to be a regular during the business end, with injuries admittedly not helping matters.

The 30-year-old has started 22 Premier League matches in 2022/23 to date, but his last appearance came back in February and he is unlikely to feature prominently between now and the final game. Mina's return to full fitness has made that even less likely, with the Colombian coming in and playing all 90 minutes of the 5-1 win away to Brighton.

A recent report suggested that Coady could leave Everton in the summer transfer window, with his future at Goodison Park believed to be "uncertain". At the same time, Mina could reportedly be set to be offered an extension, with Sean Dyche impressed with him.

Could Coady be sold by Everton?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Brown admitted that Coady's Blues future is up in the air, with a permanent deal potentially not coming his way:

"For Dyche to suddenly bring Yerry Mina in does not bode well for Coady. I would say that Coady is renowned as a leader in the dressing room and a brilliant influence around the teams he's in, whether he's playing or not."

Everton have a big decision to make with Coady at the end of the season, with positives and negatives surrounding keeping hold of him. On the plus side, he is an experienced head who possesses great leadership – Frank Lampard called him "hugely important" earlier in the campaign – and his all-round influence at the club cannot be underestimated.

That being said, he is now 30 years of age and he arguably isn't as good as Mina – the Colombian averages 5.5 clearances and 2.8 tackles per game in the league this season, compared to Coady's 3.7 and 0.6 respectively – so keeping hold of him could be risky in a financial sense.

Ultimately, the decision should lie with Dyche, who will have to weigh up whether he thinks the 10-cap England international is worthy of a permanent deal, or if better, younger options are out there, Mina included.