Jordan Pickford could give Jarrad Branthwaite an advantage in his pursuit of a regular place in the England team, according to Nigel Martyn.
The centre-back has established himself as one of Everton’s most important players, with his partnership alongside James Tarkowski continuing to develop at club level.
Branthwaite has recently regained international recognition, after being named in each of Thomas Tuchel’s squads this season. The centre-back has again joined Pickford and James Garner in the latest camp, but faces competition from some of England’s established defenders.
However, Martyn believes his existing understanding with Pickford at club level could work in his favour, pointing to the importance of relationships between goalkeepers and defenders at international level.
“I do think managers look at things like that,” Martyn told ToffeeWeb in the latest Once a Blue podcast.
“In our day, Gary Neville and David Beckham on the right-hand side, they were doing it every week for their club. If they’re the best two people in that position and they happen to play for the same club, then that is a good understanding. Jarrad will obviously know Jordan really well and Jordan will know Jarrad really well and they’ll know each other’s game.
“That is a slight advantage, I would say. He’ll be used to Jordan giving him an odd rollicking here and there and he’ll know how to react from it. So, yeah, It’s a slight advantage for sure.”
Martyn believes only injuries have prevented Branthwaite from winning more than his three senior caps. He said the standard of Premier League forwards provides the perfect ‘rehearsal’ for England duty, though warned the Everton defender that representing England comes with a ‘little bit more pressure on games’.
“I think the timing of his injuries were always bad given it’s when squads were being picked and you need to have that reliability. I know he’s having his injury gremlins at the moment, but he needs to have a real long run of form in the team, playing well every week and I think that sees him in the squad every single time, and fighting for a starting place.
You know, injuries are an unfortunate thing. You don’t want to get labelled as being somebody who’s susceptible to injury. What he needs to do is just get a nice long run of games together, staying clear of injury as much as he can.
“It’s good to see him there. He fully deserves to be in there, he’s great. He’s still learning his job really, but he is so good at doing it. I’m sure David Moyes will be just giving him little reminders here and there, and he’s got the captain right next to him, somebody he can look up to and learn from as well. He’s only going to get better, but the hope is that we can hold on to him for as long as we can.
Martyn backs branthwaite to handle england spotlight
“The standard in the Premier League is really high. Pretty much every week you’re going to be up against an international striker. So, you’re kind of rehearsing for it every single week in the Premier League. There’s just that little bit more spotlight, a little bit more profile, a little bit more pressure on games when you’re playing for England and that’s the only thing you have to deal with really that’s different.
“You’ve got to make sure that you do your job as part of your team. His team is the back four with the goalkeeper, really. He does read the game really well. He is quick. He’s a very good header of the ball. He’s good at one-on-one tussles. So, he’s got all the attributes to be an international centre-half.
“Again, as he gets older, the more games he plays, the better he’ll get. It’s just keep doing what he’s doing at the moment and he’ll be fine.”
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