Sean Dyche shares update on Jarrad Branthwaite's Everton future after 'odd' moment in Luton loss
Sean Dyche believes Everton are closing in on a new contract for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Despite the Blues’ disappointing start to the season, the 21-year-old, whose current deal expires in 2025, has been one of their most-consistent performers since coming into the side after the 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa. When asked about Branthwaite penning fresh terms, Dyche said: “I would think things are probably close now, we’ve been speaking to him for a while. As we do with all players, we’ve been keeping open lines of communication.”
Arriving at Goodison Park from his home city club Carlisle United in January 2020 to become the first signing of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign, Branthwaite had loan spells at Blackburn Rovers and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven before returning to Everton this summer and Dyche is pleased with what he has seen so far. He said: “He’s someone we were monitoring last year, we were hearing good things about him. I spoke to him a couple of times briefly, not too much depth, just a chat really to catch up.
“We made it clear that we wanted him to come back in pre-season and to do what he does in front of us because you can only tell so much through a screen as the stories we heard were very positive. He missed a bit of pre-season, which is unfortunate, to get him up to real fitness but he’s come into the side and has done well.
“He’s still got a lot to learn, not over-coaching but there’s some pointers that I’ve given him and some reminders as he matures as a centre-half and I think he’s a very good player. I think he will continue to feature as long as he keeps working hard.”
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