Jarrad Branthwaite wears the Everton home shirt for the 2025/26 season
Jarrad Branthwaite wears the Everton home shirt for the 2025/26 season
So, Jarrad Branthwaite has made it into Everton’s new stadium, wearing the new 2025/26 home shirt. Along with team-mates Iliman Ndiaye, who shared his aspiration when he signed to become the first goalscorer at Everton’s future home (he’s already written himself into the records books by netting the last two in men’s first team football at Goodison Park); James Garner; Tim Iroegbunam and Jake O’Brien, was one of David Moyes’ stars posing at the launch of next season’s kit.
But will he still be sporting the club’s colours come their first competitive match at Hill Dickinson Stadium against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, August 23, and more importantly, come September once the summer transfer window has closed?
celebrates his 23rd birthday today, which is the same age as another left-sided Everton centre-back Kevin Ratcliffe when he held aloft the FA Cup in 1984, the first of four major trophies he lifted as the club’s most successful captain.
Although ‘The Carlisle Kaiser’ skippered Lee Carsley’s England Under-21s – who defend their crown as European champions against Germany on Saturday night in the final of this year’s tournament in Bratislava – in Goodison Park’s final international, when just 7,890 watched a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland, he hasn’t been handed the armband with the Blues yet.
But Branthwaite remains central to Moyes’ plans with the manager hoping to build a team around him as part of a solid defensive triangle alongside , who is the team’s de facto on-field leader these days in the absence of , and England number one .
Back in March, ahead of Junior Fan Day, Branthwaite was asked by young supporters about his ambitions to wear the armband for Everton and said: “To be captain one day would be something I’d be thrilled to do. Obviously, I’m still young at the moment and there are more-experienced players than me in the team.
“I think to play at as well, you can see how good is. So, to play there for Everton would be something I look forward to do as well.”
Ratcliffe was only young himself but led by example and Branthwaite can do the same. The Wales international was also an older head on more youthful shoulders, though, in terms of his vocal presence, but another central defensive stalwart Alan Stubbs believes that’s something the Cumbrian can improve in his own game through increasing experience.
Speaking earlier this month, Stubbs, who captained the Blues to their highest ever Premier League position of fourth in 2004/05, : “I think Jarrad is exceeding where he should be at right now in terms of his age. Centre-halves, as we all know, get better with age, but I think he’s got fantastic attributes in terms of what you’d look for in your modern day centre-back.
“He’s quick, he’s dominant in the air, but I think he can become even more dominant. His one v one defending is good and will get better.
“The one area I’d say he needs to work on is concentration but that comes with age and experience. He’ll learn as he goes along and playing alongside James Tarkowski has been great for him in terms of having an experienced partner pulling and pushing him, telling him when to go and providing that voice.
“As he becomes older himself and more experienced, Jarrad’s voice will become more prominent. Right now, I don’t think he’s the most vocal, but that will happen.”
Some 14 months earlier, after Branthwaite had played a starring role in Everton’s first Merseyside Derby victory over Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010, netting the opening goal in a 2-0 win, , the director of football who possessed the foresight to sign him for the Blues as a 17-year-old after a mere nine games in League Two for Carlisle United, : “To be honest, I have never had any doubts about him.
“In principle he has everything to become one of the top defenders in the world,” adding: “I expect he will have a great, great future both on a national and maybe even international level.”
Moyes hopes those golden years are still at Everton. There might be concerns within the Branthwaite camp about the player’s omission from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad being down to the Blues not having European football but that hasn’t stopped Pickford from winning all 76 of his caps while with the club.
Before him, under Moyes first time around at Everton, the likes of , and were all honed into England defenders under the Glaswegian gaffer’s tutelage.
As reported by the ECHO on June 19, Blues chiefs have opened talks with Branthwaite about a new contract. Although the player’s current deal runs until 2027 with an option for a further year, as : “the offer of fresh terms that better reflected his importance were increasingly likely.”
It was Manchester United who came calling twice last season – albeit distinctly half-heartedly given that even their improved, second offer was a mere £45million plus add ons, before the promptly splashed out over £90million on centre-back pair Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt – and they promptly embarked on their worst season in living memory.
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Tottenham Hotspur, who we’re told are thought to hold the greatest interest in Branthwaite at this early stage of the transfer window, could at least offer Champions League football after their backdoor qualification of beating the wretched Red Devils in the Europa League final, but their disastrous domestic campaign saw them somehow finish even below United by coming 17th in the Premier League with a paltry 38 points.
As my colleague wrote when heralding the news of the contract talks: “Everton, buoyed by the takeover of in December, are determined to stave off that interest and believe they are operating from a position of strength given the club’s new-found financial stability.”
Under Moyes, Branthwaite has already appeared to be getting back to the imperious form of his breakthrough season and should look forward to many more happy returns in royal blue by the banks of the Mersey.