Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Jarrad Branthwaite’s level of involvement for Everton so far has been most welcome.
Fans watched on in horror earlier this year when Jarrad Branthwaite left the pitch on a stretcher against Liverpool, with word later arriving that he had suffered another hamstring injury.
That injury rather derailed Everton, who failed to win any of their remaining Premier League games in which he didn’t play.
This term though, Branthwaite has come back with a bang. So far, he’s played every single minute of Everton’s Premier League campaign, and has deservedly come in for plaudits alongside fellow centre-back James Tarkowski. The pair have been instrumental in the three league clean sheets so far.
Fans will simply hope he can stay fit now, because it’s clear how important he is – and a new statistic further shows that.
Jarrad Branthwaite co-leads defensive stat across Europe’s top five leagues
Opta Play have reported that currently, Branthwaite has made a whopping 11 blocks in the Premier League so far this term.
This is actually the joint-most of any player across Europe’s top five leagues.
For as much as we associate him for his ball-playing and line-breaking, the central defender does have a real knack of throwing his body in the way of danger. And he clearly loves to do that as well – who can forget the block he made against Manchester United on Bruno Fernandes, just after he had thwarted Marcus Rashford?
Branthwaite cheered that action, which really got the Hill Dickinson crowd going.
His prowess for blocking this season really does just further underline how vital he is to Everton.
At the moment, the Toffees are conceding a fair amount of chances which Moyes will be keen to address. But he can at least take heart from the fact that Branthwaite is making the number of blocks he is.
But to only talk about Branthwaite’s blocking is to do him a disservice.
As per Fotmob data, he’s also made 31 clearances so far in the Premier League, which puts him in the 79th percentile for other players in his position. He’s also made seven interceptions (80th percentile), and a very impressive 54 defensive contributions overall, putting him in the 91st percentile. Put simply, he is without doubt one of the most in-form defenders in Europe at the moment.
The biggest thing for Everton is to keep Branthwaite fit and healthy. We have all seen the fitness issues he’s had during his time at the club so far, so if he does need to miss a game here and there in order to stave off injuries, then Moyes must make that rotation, with Jake O’Brien and Michael Keane both waiting in the wings.