Jarrad Branthwaite came off the bench at half-time to make his first Everton appearance of the season against Leeds United on Monday
Those who were present at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night could see that Jarrad Branthwaite’s return instantly brought a new dimension to Everton’s play. With the Blues trailing 1-0 to Leeds United at the break, manager David Moyes made a bold double substitution going into the second half as he brought on a couple of his previously hamstrung stars.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had been in the form of his life before he was cruelly struck down after just 16 minutes on his first return to Stamford Bridge to face previous club Chelsea following his £25million transfer in August. Despite going into the game on December 13 declaring: “I’m confident going against anyone in the Premier League at the moment and it’s a nice place to be,” his injury kept him out for Everton’s subsequent seven fixtures.
Branthwaite hadn’t kicked a ball all season until his introduction after the interval against Daniel Farke’s side. Having signed a new five-year deal with the Blues last July, the England international proclaimed: “with the new stadium we’ve got here, the new ownership and the new manager, it’s an exciting project and it’s something I want to be part of.”
However, after playing in Everton’s first two friendlies at Accrington Stanley and Blackburn Rovers – where he had a loan spell in 2021 – the 23-year-old missed the tour of the USA for the Premier League Summer Series with injury only to return for the final warm-up game against Roma at Hill Dickinson Stadium and be forced off 11 minutes from the end. Branthwaite was then on the verge of another comeback in October when he suffered a significant setback and underwent a surgical procedure to correct the problem.
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However, after returning and making his first competitive appearance at the Blues’ new home by the banks of the Mersey, he’ll now be looking to make up for lost time and help Moyes’ men push for a European place. During his Premier League breakthrough season of 2023/24, this correspondent first dubbed Branthwaite ‘The Carlisle Kaiser’ and he only needed this latest cameo to show why.
Combining his colossal physical presence through his muscular 6ft 5in frame with an assuredness in possession, the Cumbrian proved he’s a Rolls-Royce of player with an ability to carry the ball out from the back and find team-mates further up the pitch in a manner that the other defenders at Everton – and indeed the entire division – are not capable of. Comparisonator’s Parameters League measures the weekly performances of the players in a given position in the English top flight (in Branthwaite’s case, fellow Premier League centre-backs) and there were two key categories where he excelled against Leeds United.
Over a 90-minute average, not only did he top the charts for passes to the final third with a figure of 14, to top Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool (13) plus Abdukodir Khusanov of Manchester City and Omar Alderete of Sunderland (both 12), but he was also top for successful passes to the final third with his figure again of 14 representing 100% accuracy compared to the 11 of Khusanov and van Dijk.
Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite tops the charts among Premier League centre-backs this week for the most successful passes to the final third (based on a 90-minute average)
No wonder Blues chiefs sent Manchester United packing when they came calling with their brace of cheeky bids for Branthwaite, soon after his international debut in 2024, offering £35million plus add ons and then £45million plus add ons. The Red Devils subsequently snapped up other centre-back targets Leny Yoro from Lille in a deal worth up to £58.9million and then Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich for £38.5million with a potential £4.3million in add ons.
Given the £80million fee that Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire in 2019, the £75million Chelsea paid for Wesley Fofana in 2022 and the £77million Manchester City paid for Josko Gvardiol in 2023, Everton considered Branthwaite to be in the same bracket, especially given the premium for both left-footed defenders and homegrown talent. Now the Blues can hopefully look forward to benefiting from his immense talents again for a prolonged period.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.