I saw Everton youngster on the training pitch and knew he'd be a huge hit

James Tarkowski said he thought Jarrad Branthwaite’s start to the season was so impressive he could have been in the running for a senior England call up.

The pair have built a solid partnership at centre back for Everton despite only linking up for the first time after the season had already started.

Branthwaite was brought into the starting line-up for the home match with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton’s third league game of the campaign. He has not left his stand-in captain’s side since, earning a new contract in the process.

For Tarkowski, an ever-present in an otherwise unsettled backline last season, having a consistent partner has been a welcome boost. That Branthwaite has emerged so strongly is an added bonus - though not necessarily a surprise, he said.

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Branthwaite spent last season - Tarkowski’s first at Everton - on loan in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven. He linked up with the Dutch giants while the first team was on its pre-season tour of the USA, meaning there was only a short overlapping period between Tarkowski’s arrival from Burnley and Branthwaite’s departure. That glimpse was enough for Tarkowski to believe his younger teammate was a genuine prospect though. He said: “I saw him briefly the last pre-season when I signed. He was here for a week or so then we went off for pre-season and he went to PSV. But even in that week I thought: ‘He’s a good player, him.’”

Branthwaite went on to blossom on loan. After a slow start he forced his way into the first team and became a key figure in the club’s league and Europa League campaigns, and in its success in the KNVB Cup. His