Jarrad Branthwaite played in the Carabao Cup game for Everton
Everton already have Michael Keane, Godfrey, Holgate and Mina as centre back options making Branthwaite the fifth choice. However, Everton and Rafa Benitez’s transfer stance on not sending Branthwaite on loan outlines the plan they have for him.
The Englishman started the Carabao Cup game against Huddersfield, slotting into a three man defence, playing as the left sided centre back. In 57 minutes played, the 19 year old completed 40 passes, posting a strong 98% pass success rate, winning two duels and making two recoveries.
In a Liverpool ECHO article by Phil Kirkbride, Branthwaite is described as closest to being the ‘next John Stones’ and the game against Huddersfield acted as a testament. He passed the ball around swiftly with both feet, was positionally sound and showed immense calm and composure when pressured upon by the opponents, reminiscent of Stones during his Everton days.
How often would you see a defender dribbling past the press or performing a pirouette to evade the opponent around his goal area? Stones did that and Branthwaite follows a similar mechanism.
At the tender age of 19, he’s oozing with confidence and demands the ball in tight situations rather than just clearing it. Branthwaite has bucketloads of potential and promise. The fine tuning and polishing business will be taken care of by Rafa Benitez carefully.