After three seasons in a row of relegation scares; transfer business this summer is imperative if Evertonians are to avoid another season of worrying about the dreaded drop. Although you don’t have to be a genius to realise that Everton desperately needed to do business at the top end of the pitch, the biggest task of the summer came in the form of Jarrad Branthwaite.
One of the last things the club needs is the loss of one of their most prized assets. Because of this, keeping hold of Branthwaite feels more of a requirement than a want. Everton have done everything in their power to achieve this and it now looks like their hard work has paid off.
The 22-year-old’s remarkably impressive displays were bound to draw interest from big sides looking to capitalise on Everton’s well-known financial issues. As the season ended and the transfer window approached, Evertonians were having flashbacks to the summer of 2016 when John Stones left the club.
A Manchester club using their money to push their weight around and take a gifted young defender from Everton without even really feeling the need to ask felt all too familiar. It seemed every bit likely that Manchester United were going to swoop in and grab the centre-back to bolster their shaky defence with Everton left powerless to do anything in the way of stopping it.
Fans had begun to prepare for life without the Englishman and were already lining up possible options to try and replace what seemed to some as irreplaceable. Almost miraculously, however, Everton have managed to keep hold of their man, at least for this season. The Blues seem to have weathered the storm of bids from Man United and with just over a month till the window closes, and with every Evertonians’ fingers crossed, Branthwaite looks to be staying on Merseyside.
Since lining up alongside James Tarkowski, the team’s defence has improved drastically. The duo’s formidable partnership combined with consistently solid displays from the like of Jordan Pickford and Vitaly Mykolenko in Sean Dyche’s structured set-up made Everton the fourth best defence in the league last season.
Signed from Carlisle in 2020 at 17-years-old for £1 million, the Cumbrian is one of few genuine transfer success stories of recent for The Toffees.
The 6ft5, rapid, two-footed defender showed promise in his first spell at Everton, with his late-equaliser at Stamford Bridge being the standout moment, but was widely deemed not quite ready for first team Premier League football. A incredibly productive loan in the 22/23 season for PSV in which he helped manager Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side win the Dutch domestic cup posed the question of whether Branthwaite could take the place of the departing Yerry Mina and start at the back for the Blues. It was a resounding yes to that question almost instantly as Sean Dyche, and the Everton faithful, were quickly proved they had a special talent on their hands.
Unfortunately, as it often goes for Everton, not long after they discover a talented player in their ranks, the rest of the footballing world does to.
An England call-up in March did nothing but add to the reports linking the player with moves away from the club. Everton could sense the vultures circling and were prepared for the headache of having to choose between Branthwaite or the money. And with Everton’s complicated relationship with money in recent years, the decision only got tougher.
Surprisingly, however, Everton were not given a headache by Manchester United – Branthwaite’s long-term suitors – but were given, as many saw it, an insult. The Red Devils’ opening bid of £35 million plus add ons felt more a declaration of arrogance than a declaration of genuine interest in the defender, and Everton swiftly rejected the offer. United’s improved bid of £50 million was not received any better and the Manchester club were left to consider their options.
Erik Ten Haag’s side clearly misjudged Everton’s financial woes and they were forced to pursue a different target. 18-year-old Leny Yoro was soon signed from Lille for £52 million as it seemed The Toffees’ had proved too resilient for Man United’s liking.
The French defender’s arrival at Old Trafford has calmed all links of Jarrad Branthwaite leaving Everton this summer. Now a move that once seemed a nightmarish inevitability is no longer a worry for Evertonians as it appears Dyche’s solid defence has rubbed off onto the club’s transfer negotiations.
