Exclusive: Marcel Brands explains Jarrad Branthwaite transfer, Carlo Ancelotti reaction and missed signings
Plucked from obscurity as a 17-year-old after just nine League Two games for his local club Carlisle United, Jarrad Branthwaite has been one of Everton’s most-astute purchases of modern times having developed into a potential £100million-rated player.
No True Blue wants to see the Merseyside Derby hero who has been the breakthrough star of the season for Sean Dyche’s side go anywhere soon but if one of his long list of admirers does try and prise the prodigious talent away from Goodison Park then they’d surely have to break the bank to do so. If the likes of Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021) and Declan Rice (West Ham United to Arsenal in 2023) can command nine-figure fees, then why not Branthwaite given the premium on domestic talent?
Physically imposing, the 6ft 5in centre-back who was called up for the last England squad is also assured in possession, still two months’ shy of his 22nd birthday and tied down to a contract with Everton until 2027. Wantaway owner Farhad Moshiri apologised for the turbulent financial storm on the horizon when he admitted to fans in the summer of 2022 “we have not always spent large amounts of money wisely” but for all the expensive flops that have put the Blues down a path that resulted in two points deductions this season for PSR breaches, the acquisition of Branthwaite has proven inspired.
One man who is not surprised by the Cumbrian’s rapid rise is PSV Eindhoven president Marcel Brands who as Everton’s director of football at the time oversaw Branthwaite’s transfer in January 2020 when the youngster officially became the first signing of Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure. Brands told the ECHO: “Jarrad has always had a huge talent and from day one when he first came into the
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