Manchester City are reportedly tracking Everton’s 19-year-old centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite.
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City want to continue with their approach of signing young, talented English youngsters and helping them develop into world-beaters. In this quest, they have identified Everton’s 19-year-old central defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
The Premier League champions are rich in resources with solid depth in every position. The centre-back area is no different with the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake holding the first-team spots. This would mean that any incoming youngster would have to spend some time with the reserves before being slowly drafted into the senior squad.
Branthwaite could be one such signing, with City currently monitoring the performances of the youngster. He made his Premier League debut in the 2019/20 term, playing the final four games of the season. He was sent on a short loan to Blackburn Rovers for the second half of the last season where he played ten matches in the Championship before returning to the Merseyside club.
He wasn’t drafted immediately into the starting XI but made his first appearance of the 2021/22 season in December last year against Chelsea against whom he scored in a 1-1 draw. He played five more matches in the league this season, which were enough to turn heads, with City even keeping tabs now. Manchester United are also said to be interested in the defender.
With a total of 20 matches in the Premier League and Championship, Branthwaite doesn’t have enough experience to start day-in, day-out for a Premier League club, especially not at champions Manchester City. Thus, staying at Everton, where first-team opportunities could be more regular in the upcoming season, could suit him better.
The Toffees are preparing to bounce back from a disappointing season. They were off the boil for the majority of the term and consistently flirted with relegation. However, a last-gasp 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on the penultimate matchday secured them another season in the English top-flight.
Frank Lampard has a big task on his hands as he goes on about restoring Everton’s spot in the top half of the Premier League following a 16th-place finish. The former Chelsea manager has shown previously that he is not shy of backing youngsters and Branthwaite could benefit from staying at Goodison Park rather than moving to the Etihad, where first-team opportunities will be hard to come by.
