Jarrad Branthwaite is a centre-back by trade, but David Moyes started him out of position during Everton’s clash against Manchester United.
Jarrad Branthwaite was selected ahead of Vitalii Mykolenko at left-back, which left many Everton fans surprised.
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Mykolenko has been the first choice in that position all season, although his form has been very up and down.
Mykolenko has come in for lots of criticism throughout the campaign, so David Moyes finally decided to drop him to the bench.
Speaking ahead of the Hill Dickinson Stadium clash, the Toffees manager explained his reasoning behind the controversial decision.
Everton left-back Jarrad Branthwaite.
Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
David Moyes explains reasoning for controversial Everton vs Man United decision
Moyes was asked by Sky Sports why Branthwaite wasn’t operating in his usual position in the heart of Everton’s defence.
The 62-year-old pointed to the fact that Pep Guardiola often uses his centre-backs as full-backs when required.
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“I think some of the best teams, you look at Man City over recent seasons, they’ve not been shy to do it when they have had to,” the Scotsman stated.
“Jarrad is more than comfortable to be a left-back as well as a centre-back. He’s quick, big, gives us the size which we were a little bit concerned about not having big Jake (O’Brien) tonight.
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“He’s a really talented player but we are trying to manage his minutes after coming back from his hamstring injury and Michael Keane and James Tarkowski have been doing really well this season.
“Hopefully they keep performing as well as they have done.”
Jake O’Brien is serving a one-game ban after receiving a straight red card in the 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth earlier this month.
O’Brien will return for the Newcastle United game later this month, so the Branthwaite experiment will likely be a one-off.
Mykolenko is expected to start the Newcastle game, with Branthwaite partnering James Tarkowski in the middle.
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