Seasons2021-22Rumour Mill
Branthwaite on City's radar
Manchester City have "had a look" at Jarrad Branthwaite as the Premier League champions look to ensure they have the cream of England's talent as the building blocks for sustained success.
According MailSport, City's scouts have run the rule over Branthwaite but appear to be hotter on the trail of Leicester's 18-year-old prospect Ben Nelson as they look for homegrown talent.
Branthwaite, whom Everton picked up from Carlisle United 2 years ago, has already been called upon at first-team level on a number of occasions and is regarded as a future Goodison centre-back fixture.
Original Source: MailSport
Reader Comments (52)
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2 Posted 30/05/2022 at 21:14:41
3 Posted 30/05/2022 at 22:26:17
4 Posted 30/05/2022 at 23:50:56
5 Posted 31/05/2022 at 00:32:40
To sell him is just plain silly when it's clear we are gonna get ripped off trying to buy players we can't afford this year. There's a couple of players who have let us down in that role so let's try to offload at least one of them instead.
6 Posted 31/05/2022 at 03:29:46
He still has a lot to learn, as that Brentford red card incident showed, but he has the potential to be a top-class centre-back, provided he can stay fit and clear of injuries.
7 Posted 31/05/2022 at 07:03:47
For me, the bigger question should be: Which one of Godfrey, Holgate or Keane should be moved on? With the athletic 6ft 5in Reece Welch coming through too, at least one of these should go to make space for Welch and a new left-footed centre-back.
If we could replace Mina with a fitter version of his dominant self, that'd be ideal, but just can't see any takers for him with that injury record.
8 Posted 31/05/2022 at 07:07:23
I don't mind lack of pace as long as the player can think ahead and compensate to counter for that. Something Michael Keane has regular lapses in.
I like Branthwaite, but I'm not sure pace is part of his game.
9 Posted 31/05/2022 at 08:11:39
He would be a likely heir to Laporte over time but wouldn't get many games – and would compete with Harwood-Bellis and Doyle who are already on their books.
Personally I think Man Utd is a likelier destination because Ten Hag will want to build a young British core ideally and (as I said with Brennan Johnson) there are very few quality players not already at Top 6 clubs.
Plenty will be interested in him. I'd love him to stay but we'll see.
10 Posted 31/05/2022 at 08:20:32
11 Posted 31/05/2022 at 08:22:08
Hopefully he will have lots of game time next season. Plenty of choice in centre-back positions if everybody is fit. But I remain uncertain about where Ben Godfrey should play, he is very quick and brave but still unconvincing sometimes, particularly in the air.
12 Posted 31/05/2022 at 08:24:58
I like Godfrey (despite my concerns about his lack of height) and would love the two to be given a chance to form a defensive partnership which could be our backbone for years to come.
Yerry is one of my favourite players but I think it's sensible to move him on for a fee given the small return we seem to be getting from his glass legs. I would be open too to Keane being moved on and another young, hungry and pacey centre-back to come in, there would be strong competition at the back of young defenders.
I quite like the look of that Spurs lad who was on loan at Celtic last season, Cameron-Vickers, I think?!
13 Posted 31/05/2022 at 08:55:17
Some players are just rapid. Or have acceleration; an attribute usually good for a striker. Quick over 10 yards as the saying goes. That's all they need to be.
Others don't accelerate quick, but once in their stride are quick.
Then you have those who aren't necessarily accelerative or rapid but have a quick change of pace, which can beat a player and buy 5 or 10 yards of space. Anthony Gordon is a good example of this.
With centre backs, I place more emphasis on the ability to anticipate and read the game. Not watch the ball go over your head and then have that "oh shit" moment, knowing you can't recover the situation.
It's not an athletics track race. It's football. To play football, you need many attributes. Pace can be one of them, but it's not the essential ingredient.
14 Posted 31/05/2022 at 09:08:55
Mina and Keane have made mistakes since they came here and still making them; Holgate has improved under Lampard and his coaches – so will Branthwaite.
£50M shouldn't be enough to buy him but obviously his head will be turned if there is any truth in this story, and Everton will take the money because of FFP and the financial mess we have been left in not to mention the poor state of the squad.
15 Posted 31/05/2022 at 09:33:33
Branthwaite has a lot about him. At U23s level it's clear he's so much better than everyone else. Could easily play midfield. Welch is good but not in that league.
Correct about pace, Danny. John Terry never really had any and it didn't hold him back. However, he'd have been even better with pace. Branthwaite is quick and pretty agile too, turning well for such a big unit. He has all the qualities to become exceptional.
We're basically missing a tough organiser alongside him. It might be Carter-Vickers or Coady. Might be a foreign signing. I expect Thelwell and Lampard are working on this.
Hopefully it's a partner to Branthwaite rather than a replacement.
16 Posted 31/05/2022 at 10:12:44
We seem to have got the “Moneyball” philosophy right on this lad. Unless of course someone wants to sling gazillions at us!
17 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:00:54
Let's not go John Stones on him.
Central defenders mature much later. You don't see the best out of them until they hit 28 - 30, and many go on to their vintage years way beyond that in the modern game.
Because it's a position that relies upon experience and reading the game as much as it does on ability and instinct.
I like Branthwaite and have hopes for him. Ironically one of the best moments was at Stamford Bridge and not in a defensive position. But his anticipation and following the flight of the ball perfectly to judge Anthony Gordon's cross was, well, perfect. I was right in front of it (well 5 rows back).
Anticipation and reading the game. This lad could be something special.
18 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:11:20
19 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:19:18
20 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:22:50
In my view, the academies are there to provide players for the first team and / or generate revenue.
Everton are an example of pretty much doing neither over the years although the signs of the recent 18 months look promising (Branthwaite, Gordon, potentially Warrington).
Or you can do a Schalke who has a renowned academy. But they relied on the academy to be so much of a cash cow that they neglected the first team and eventually got relegated. Fortunately, they've come back up at the first time of asking.
It's always a balance between keeping and selling. All clubs do it. Everton just haven't been very good at it. The important thing is to get what's right for the club and the team.
21 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:37:34
Benitez came in for a lot of stick during his time here but in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea he achieved the draw with, Simms, Gordon, Dobbin, Branthwaite and Onyango on the field during the game.
22 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:43:07
23 Posted 31/05/2022 at 12:49:08
I was at Palace home, but that night at Stamford Bridge still rates as one of the most enjoyable I've had this season.
Young fans belting out Marching Down the Goodison Road and banging on the rafters.
Young fans watching a very young team taking on one of Europe's finest and matching them. Making middle aged fools like me feel very proud of them.
24 Posted 31/05/2022 at 13:47:04
Apparently the pace is there. I only saw one example of it so far, can't remember the exact details, but he made a run forward from around right back position and was ripping once he got into stride. Lot of learning in front of him yet. Last thing we need to do is sell.
25 Posted 31/05/2022 at 13:56:08
I doubt they'll be bidding for him just yet. Especially if they wait a season or two, when he has more experience.
26 Posted 31/05/2022 at 14:41:58
27 Posted 31/05/2022 at 15:15:48
Does this mean we could start the season with Holgate, Coleman and Branthwaite in midfield?
Yeah right… and is it just two of them have scored this season?
28 Posted 31/05/2022 at 15:48:47
Generally though, defenders who look impressive when they stride forward with the ball into midfield areas are much less comfortable when they are already in midfield positions receiving the ball.
29 Posted 31/05/2022 at 15:54:00
30 Posted 31/05/2022 at 16:22:17
31 Posted 31/05/2022 at 17:09:00
32 Posted 31/05/2022 at 17:38:18
33 Posted 31/05/2022 at 17:48:07
Also, he needs games; if he is deemed still not quite ready this season, he should be sent on loan to get that game time. Best club possible with a guarantee of that.
34 Posted 31/05/2022 at 18:35:44
35 Posted 31/05/2022 at 19:05:49
If Everton sell Branthwaite, I'll be very disappointed. If any of Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin and Pickford are sold, I will be minded to fuck Everton right off and simply stop watching them.
I've had enough of this shit, which, in my time, started with the ludicrous sale of Alan Ball.
EFC, the club that talks big and walks small.
36 Posted 31/05/2022 at 19:09:11
37 Posted 31/05/2022 at 20:08:06
When I said Branthwaite could play in midfield, I meant at U23 level. Because he's obviously so much better than everyone else when he plays at that level.
He'd be the best left-back on the pitch at U23s too. He won't play either position in the senior side unless we're desperate.
38 Posted 31/05/2022 at 20:40:44
I'm afraid you will be disappointed if you think we won't sell one or two of our top players, we have to for FFP reasons.
As much as I want to keep the three players you mentioned, I feel we also need to know when to sell, something we have got spectacularly wrong under Moshiri's tenure.
39 Posted 01/06/2022 at 07:22:42
I assume the Cleaning Staff were either carrying buckets (full) and mops, or pushing fully laden trolleys. The sooner we get rid of him the better!
Schneiderlin with a black beard (Hide and Seek Champion)?
40 Posted 01/06/2022 at 08:25:55
The trouble is he really needs to start 20+ games next season at first team level to help his development. Will that happen at Everton?
Realistically the best thing for him might be a loan to a decent Championship club where he should be guaranteed game time. Unless Lampard really fancies him and reckons he'll be a starting pick here?
We need a more settled centre-back partnership next season. It sounds like Tarkowski is coming and I think he could do well, he's rarely injured and wins his battles for the most part (though not sure how well he does in a high line).
Assuming that Tarkowski only comes if Mina is going, then would Godfrey and Tarkowski be first choice next year?
41 Posted 01/06/2022 at 08:49:03
Forest are talking to Man Utd about keeping James Garner for another year too. Can we get in on the act!
It sounds like we need to be proactive right now, not next week or the week after, I hope none of our recruitment team are sipping sangria in Benidorm. We cannot under any circumstances whatsoever afford to neglect the central midfield issues. This is priority No 1 for us this summer, we need to be ahead of the game and vying with the competition.
Failure on this recruitment will see us flirting with the lower bottom-half of the table again. Success could give Frank an opportunity to build a young progressive team.
42 Posted 01/06/2022 at 08:59:24
It's not a question of not being calm, or of being uncalm, it's a matter of recognising a long-term trend at Everton. If this trend continues, as far as I'm concerned, it will signify that the club is content with simply being in the Premier League, and that all the talk of wanting to compete at the top is simply that — talk.
In that case, I will probably watch far fewer games, and in my case, I know what that will mean that I end up, sooner rather than later, not watching at all.
The corruption in the game has been sufficient to reduce my enthusiasm for football and watching rate gradually but significantly, and I generally now watch only Everton games. That combined with Everton being content with mediocrity, would probably lead to completion of the disinterest process.
43 Posted 01/06/2022 at 09:17:10
44 Posted 01/06/2022 at 09:22:37
45 Posted 01/06/2022 at 09:33:02
46 Posted 01/06/2022 at 09:40:34
47 Posted 01/06/2022 at 10:10:11
I wouldn't be surprised to see Tarkowski bought in within next couple of weeks, some players being bought in mid-July, with Richarlison or Calvert-Lewin departing at the end of July.
There's been too much uncertainty on and off the pitch at ours to line up and execute early summer business in the way Dortmund (and Villa?) have so impressively.
48 Posted 01/06/2022 at 11:24:07
49 Posted 01/06/2022 at 11:29:22
Its a bit late now but I wish that Kenwrights name had been erased from our history a long time ago.
50 Posted 01/06/2022 at 16:04:30
51 Posted 01/06/2022 at 17:40:02
I do this every window too, bud, I look at what others are doing and get the fear that we will miss out, which we invariably do of course. It's frustrating.
I have watched this happen to so many targets over the years, Palace and Olise spring to mind last year, it was so obvious he was going to be a steal.
Prior to us signing Patterson, I was jumping up and down about Djed Spence, guess what, the kid is now worth triple and lots of people looking at him.
I could go on and on.
52 Posted 01/06/2022 at 19:22:17
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1 Posted 30/05/2022 at 21:10:14
Seems a very decent prospect albeit very young and still learning.