Jarrad Branthwaite's meteoric rise ahead of potential England debut
It’s fair to say it’s been a meteoric rise for Everton’s Branthwaite this season, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
The defender arrived at Goodison Park in January 2020, having joined from boyhood club Carlisle United, and made his Premier League debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in July 2020 as an 18-year-old.
He made eight more first-team appearances for the Toffees before joining Blackburn Rovers on loan in January 2021. Despite initially impressing, an ankle injury prematurely curtailed his Ewood Park stay after making just 10 starts.
The defender returned to Goodison Park for the start of the 2021/22 season and made eight appearances across all competitions. In that time he scored his first goal, a crucial equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, however, he also received a costly red card in a high stakes 3-2 defeat home defeat to Brentford late in the campaign when Everton were embroiled in a tight relegation scrap.
With the Toffees eager to accelerate the defender’s clear potential, the 2022/23 season saw him make a loan move to PSV. He impressed for the Dutch outfit, making 37 appearances, which included 27 in the Eredivisie, as well as five in European competitions.
Branthwaite returned to Merseyside last summer but was late rejoining his Everton teammates for pre-season as he and club teammate James Garner helped Lee Carsley’s England under-21s impressively win the European Championships.
Given the heights we’ve seen the defender hit this season, it seems remarkable to note that he made just one appearance across the Young Lions’ six matches en route to winning the tournament.
Boss Carsley spoke about Branthwaite not long after their summer success and explained: “Jarrad is still at an age where he can go and have another full qualifying campaign at this level and potentially a European Championship tournament. He’s been capped now at under-21s level, meaning it will be easier for him to come back in.”
Branthwaite did add a further four under-21 caps to his name during the Autumn international breaks, however, they’ll likely prove the last occasions Carsley has the opportunity to call on the exciting prospect
Last week, he was included in the England senior squad announced by Gareth Southgate and met up with his new national teammates on Tuesday morning ahead of two friendly fixtures against Brazil and Belgium.
His inclusion was a watershed moment, and a just reward for the fine form we’ve seen from the youngster who has made 31 appearances across all competitions for the Toffees this season.
He and teammate James Tarkowski have helped form a solid defensive partnership, and even despite Everton’s precarious league position, their underlying defensive statistics paint a very complimentary picture.
Only three sides have conceded fewer league goals than Everton this season (39), and each of them make up the current top three in the Premier League table (Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City).
Additionally, only those three sides plus Brighton have a lower Expected Goals Against (xGA) total, a proxy for the quality and volume of chances conceded, than the Toffees. Branthwaite has been a significant contributor to that.
Despite standing at 6ft 5in, Branthwaite is extremely quick across the ground, making him great at covering space, battling pacey attackers and closing down threats. He’s also proving to be a dominant defender when engaging with opponents, too.
For all central defenders aged 22 or below across Europe’s traditional top five leagues, Branthwaite has the highest success rate in terms of defensive duels. Aided by his height, he has also won the seventh-most headers in the Premier League this season.
When it comes to traits needed to be a top defender in the Premier League, Branthwaite has it all. Yet, what really gives him that elite edge is what he brings with the ball. He’s calm and composed in possession, and also left-footed, meaning he can bring a different dimension to a team’s build-up play from the back.
Everton don’t tend to try and dominate the ball, and their possession average of 40.1% is the second-lowest in the Premier League. However, the story was much different at PSV last season where Branthwaite thrived in a more possession-based philosophy.
That would have appealed to Southgate who is short of true quality left-footed central defenders in his squad pool, and it’ll also prove extremely attractive to potential bigger clubs sniffing around the defender this summer.
Chelsea and Manchester United are the two thought to be most interested in the Everton man, with the latter already being heavily tipped to make a bid this summer. Should he make his England debut this weekend, and continue on his current trajectory in terms of development, then that bid might have to be ‘substantial’ if they are to land their target.
