Everton should cash in on Jarrad Branthwaite to land 64-cap 'absolutely unreal' free transfer bargainplaceholder image
Everton should cash in on Jarrad Branthwaite to land 64-cap 'absolutely unreal' free transfer bargain | Getty Images
Everton recruited well in the summer but could selling a star asset pave the way for a bargain Bosman move?
If there is one thing that David Moyes knows what to do, it is how to set up a defence, again shown by Everton’s form this season.
Despite not having the injured Jarrad Branthwaite and a recognised left or right back for several games already this season, the Toffees are still just one win off the European places and could leapfrog Spurs sitting in sixth place this weekend if they win all three points at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Everton should sell Jarrad Branthwaite
Over the next two transfer windows Moyes will be given money, however, some of the best signings can be secured without breaking the bank. The budget can also be helped by selling a player or two and, if key asset Branthwaite was sold, it would go a long way in helping to continue the rebuild.
The towering stopper is far from being an eggshell, but it is hard to ignore the muscle injuries that his huge frame continues to pick up and the two absences between the last two season due to surgery to his groin and hamstring respectively.
In Michael Keane and James Tarkovski, Everton have two reliable, senior centre-halves with Jake O’Brien also more natural in the middle of the pitch rather than on the right, where he has spent most of his time in a blue shirt. They all share something in common in that they defend first and ask questions later. It is this template that Moyes should follow when recruiting again when the transfer window opens.
There is an easy way in which Everton can make circa £75m by selling Branthwaite and replace him without losing quality or without spending any serious amount of money. There is a long list of international quality centre-halves who are going to be available this summer at the end of their contracts but one name sticks out more than most in terms of being the perfect option for Everton.
Who Everton should target to replace Branthwaite
For whatever reason, Manchester United and Ruben Amorim keep trying to get rid of Harry Maguire. Time, after time, the 32-year old has to watch from the bench, but his attitude has never changed and he has saved his manager’s blushes on several occasions. The former Old Trafford skipper is far from getting the respect that he deserves. At Everton, he would be valued for what he can do, not what he can’t.
Maguire could replace the physicality and aerial dominance of Branthwaite, he is also every bit as comfortable on the ball if not moreso. It is one of the 64-times capped defender’s underrated qualities and alongside any of the current Everton centre-halves, he would provide excellent balance and add to the leadership that is already running through the core of the team.
On a free transfer next summer when his current contract runs out, it is a no brainer and Moyes should already be having a word in the big stopper’s ear whenever they next cross paths.
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