The centre-back won’t return from his hamstring injury until January at the earliest, having not played at all so far this season. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)placeholder image
The centre-back won’t return from his hamstring injury until January at the earliest, having not played at all so far this season. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
David Moyes needs all the help he can get if Everton are to qualify for Europe and Jarrad Branthwaite could be key.
With one of the smallest squads in the Premier League, David Moyes needs as many of his key players fit and firing on all cylinders as possible in the coming weeks.
A place in Europe is a distinct possibility with just one point separating them from Brentford in seventh and eight between them and Man United in third. A remarkable achievement so far given the injuries, suspensions and African Cup of Nations enforced absences that the manager has had to endure. That he has only recently been able to call on his best centre-half in the £75m-rated Jarrad Branthwaite makes it even more impressive.
Jarrad Branthwaite makes timely Everton return
The £1m signing from Carlisle has gone from strength to strength since his loan spell at PSV Eindhoven, however, an injury suffered at the end of last season has proven to be a troublesome one to shake off after a summer set-back and then further surgery. The priority now is for him to stay fit, rather than throw him back into action too quickly, making sure that his minutes are managed accordingly. The 23-year old is fit for this weekend’s clash with Arsenal.
What Branthwaite’s return has also done is allow Moyes to play what must be the biggest back four in Premier League history with both the Cumbrian and Jake O’Brien lining up in the full-back positions on opposite sides of the park. With both players standing over 6ft 4inches tall, the Premier League’s wingers don’t stand much of a chance when keepers go long. Branthwaite will always be more at home in the middle though and his extra pace compared to Tarkowski and Michael Keane could be key in the coming weeks.
What James Tarkowski has said about defensive partner
Tarkowski said of the versatile pair in an interview with Toffees TV: “We know Jake and Jarrad are freak athletes, rapid, rapid across the pitch, cover the ground so quickly, both technically good on the ball as well. So, at this kind of level, I think you just got to understand each other’s games quite well. And I think we’ve done that pretty well so far.”
On Branthwaite specifically, he said: “It’s nice to have Jarrad back, he’s had a difficult time. Injuries are part of the game but he’s had a really tough time recently and it’s nice to have him back out there. We know how good he is and how good he’s been for us. Hopefully, we can keep him out on the pitch and he can keep performing to at that level that we know he can.”
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