David Moyes, aware of the importance of Jarrad Branthwaite, hopes to keep him as an Everton focal point as he hits fitness and form
Jarrad Branthwaite before the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Photo by Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images
Jarrad Branthwaite before the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Photo by Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images
View Image
David Moyes wants Everton to be able to build around Jarrad Branthwaite to show his ambitions can be met by the club.
The Blues boss was full of praise for the centre-back and those at Finch Farm who had played a role in signing him and helping him develop into a senior international.
As Branthwaite prepares for a long-awaited return to the England squad, Moyes opened up on the battle to keep him at Everton, his recovery from injury, and his future.
The 63-year-old made signing the centre-back to a new contract a key pillar of the first summer of his second stint, back in 2025. Everton had fought off interest from Manchester United the previous summer and with a squad rebuild underway and the club moving to Hill Dickinson Stadium, securing the future of Branthwaite was central to his plans.
Reflecting on the work to keep hold of one of the club’s prized assets, Moyes said: “It was probably one of the most difficult times, really, because we had just left Goodison. Obviously we had avoided relegation and were moving into the new stadium. We had to work hard in the summer to get Jarrad because he was in demand.
“Then, unfortunately, he picked up an injury which put him back a little bit and it hung with us for quite a while. But I always thought he had the attributes to go on to be a top centre-back and he's still young. Centre-backs can play for a long time.
“I don't know if I can get the words right but he's trying to maybe grow out of that big, athletic legs and young body, which might have just hindered him a little bit [physically] earlier on.”
What was set to be a major season for Branthwaite descended into misery when he suffered the first of his hamstring problems on the eve of the campaign. A later setback left him requiring surgery and his season started in late-January. Just 10 games later he was stretchered off in the closing stages of the Merseyside derby, a turning point in that match and the club's push for Europe.
Work to manage his recovery in a way that makes his body more resilient has been carefully undertaken this summer, the player spending time in Germany with specialists and having his workload managed through pre-season. The result has been a start to the season in which he has started every league game and impressed to the point of being recalled to England for the first time in more than two years.
Moyes now has confidence Branthwaite can handle a more rigorous schedule, though he chose to rest him for the midweek Carabao Cup win over Wolves. He said: “We've paced him through pre-season. We didn't play him in all the games, we kept him out if we were playing Saturday, Wednesday in the early part, we kept him out of it.
“We didn't use him in midweek here, at the moment, but he's ready to play if he has to play Saturday, Wednesday football. So we've just tried to – and I have to say the medical team have done a really good job – but Jarrad's looked after himself really well and, if anything, I think when you have an injury like Jarrad's it makes you even more professional.
“So I think in some ways it's made Jarrad realise that he'll need to really look after himself at the right times. But it's just that he's got such acceleration and speed. He's had a couple of hamstring injuries which hopefully are solved.”
While Branthwaite’s return to form and fitness is welcome, there is an awareness his talent will lead to clubs considering a move for him. That is tough for Moyes, who lost star player Iliman Ndiaye in a late summer deal to Manchester City as the club’s strategy in the market appeared to flip in the final weeks, with owners The Friedkin Group showing an openness to selling some of the club’s best talent.
On what he would like to do, Moyes said of Branthwaite: “We've got him on a really good long contract now. So my idea is that we build and we bring more players of that level in which makes Jarrad want to stay and that makes him realise that we're building a team, which is going to be improving.
“We have to show those players, and we have to show people like Jarrad Branthwaite, that we are going to make those steps to continue to step forward.”