Branthwaite blow throws more harsh light on Everton squad depth

There has been more bad news for Everton today as centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite has picked up and injury while on England Under-21 duty.

Branthwaite has been one of the few bright spots in what has been a truly terrible start to the new Premier League campaign.

The young defender – who I was very keen to see given a proper chance this season – has been solid and reliable at the back for Everton since taking over from Michael Keane alongside James Tarkowski.

He has looked very comfortable and assured in what is his second stint in the Premier League after a successful loan spell in Holland with PSV Eindhoven.

It is just typical of how things go for this club that after finally getting a shot to start for the first-team he gets hurt.

All this comes at the same time as the Blues face losing another player in Demarai Gray after the transfer window has closed, who they haven’t replaced, and continuing uncertainty over the ownership and financial future of the club.

Any hopes and tentative optimism that Everton supporters might have had about how this season would turn out have been horribly undermined by what has been a truly dreadful first few weeks.

An unenviable record of three games, three defeats and no goals scored, something which had never happened to the Toffees before, was then followed by a 2-2 draw at Sheffield United that barely improved matters.

There is now at least an international break for a week and this could give Branthwaite enough time to recover fitness before the Blues host Arsenal on the 17th September.

By then too hopefully, other injured players such as Dwight McNeil will also be fully fit to start contributing to the team’s attack.

One other issue which all this underlines is the paper thin reality of Sean Dyche’s squad.

So many players have left Everton this summer it’s hard to remember all of them. A few of the names include Yerry Mina, Conor Coady, Ellis Simms and a number of youth team players too.

Then on transfer deadline day as predictably the Toffees made no successful moves to bolster their numbers, the club sanctioned the further exits of Tom Cannon, Neal Maupay and Alex Iwobi.

And now, if Gray does also depart it will leave Dyche with precious little depth as he tries to plot a way through what is certain to be another hugely difficult season, especially after such a terrible start.

The huge gamble the club have taken in releasing so many players might well backfire spectacularly once injuries begin to really bite, as the usually do.

I am very worried these decisions are going to come back to haunt Everton later in the campaign.