LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 18: Everton manager David Moyes applauds the fans after the Premier League match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park on May 18, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Agreeing a new deal with Jarrad Branthwaite would be one of the most significant acts of Everton’s summer. The club faces a rebuilding project the scale of which has rarely been seen in the Premier League era.
As it stands, just 14 senior players will be under contract come July 1 ahead of a landmark first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Yet for all the incomings that are required, protecting a player who is already at Finch Farm would be a real statement of intent.
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Among the many items on the Blues’ ‘to-do’ list, Everton entered the summer braced for interest in Branthwaite. His breakthrough campaign in 2023/24 alerted a host of clubs to his potential and led to two speculative bids from Manchester United.
Twelve months ago, as INEOS appeared keen to make the defender the first piece of their own regeneration project, it was possible to believe they might make good on their hopes of turning the club around.
Instead, they submitted two spurious bids that fell well short of Everton’s valuation of Branthwaite and moved on, descending into chaos.
When they appeared at Goodison Park in the spring their squad had centre backs that had cost them more than £200m - yet it was the £1m signing from Carlisle who stood out on that pitch as a sorry opponent laboured before a late comeback.
This season has been tougher for Branthwaite as injury dogged his opening months and the upheaval at Everton threatened to push the club into a fourth consecutive relegation fight.
Yet he grew into the campaign and, under David Moyes, became part of a defensive unit that was among the most effective in the top flight.
That unit, particularly the axis of Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford, is what Moyes wants to build his new squad around.
Amid uncertainty almost everywhere else on the pitch, those three provide stability and genuine, proven quality - something the Blues boss hopes to replicate elsewhere on the pitch.
If Everton can protect their defensive base then creating a side that can make genuine progress next season is a reality.
Central to that is Branthwaite, who has the potential to be a talismanic figure for years to come but is again being courted by Champions League clubs.
He is understood to be content on Merseyside and appreciative of the opportunities the club have provided him thus far, though Thomas Tuchel’s approach to his England squad - favouring those who are playing in Europe - is problematic as he attempts to fight his way into the World Cup squad next summer.
Everton cannot enter new talks ignorant of his potential or his ambition, and if they are to ensure he is not tempted by serious bids from elsewhere then any offer will have to reflect his status as being pivotal to the club’s plans.
Treating this deal as one of such high priority in such a busy summer is a good start.