BBC pundit stunned by ‘unbelievable’ Jarrad Branthwaite in draw with Brighton as Everton star compared to World Cup-winning captain
Jarrad Branthwaite continued his “unbelievable” season for Everton as he did at least “10 things” to contribute to a strong rear-guard performance in the 1-1 draw with Brighton, according to Barry Horne.
The BBC Radio Merseyside pundit reacted just inside the hour at Goodison Park on 4 November after the centre-back stepped across to intercept a Seagulls attack thanks to good positioning, with the 21-year-old’s style compared to England’s World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.
Branthwaite spent last season on loan in the Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven and Horne believes he has set a “great example” to fellow youngsters for how to develop and break into the first team.
Horne said (4.22pm): “Branthwaite again, he’s having an unbelievable season. He does things, he rarely seems to sprint, you rarely see him go to ground, because he’s in the right position.
“He just stepped across there and you don’t even notice what he’s doing, but he’s done about 10 things in this game and they’ve all just been, not eye-catching in any way, shape or form, he’s just been in the right place.
“You say Bobby Moore rarely had to put a tackle in because he was in the right place at the right time alway.
On the PSV loan helping he added: “Absolutely, and it’s a great example to any young player. Go away, get your head down, work hard, listen to your coach.”
Star in the making
Branthwaite may have been harshly booked for a shirt-pull on Ansu Fati late in the game but he was again strong at Goodison Park.
Facing a side who dominated possession hugely as the home side looked to hold onto an early one-goal lead provided by Vitalii Mykolenko it was key for the Everton defence to be on their game.
Branthwaite calmly dealt with the danger before it properly developed and it was only an unlucky deflection from out wide that ultimately brought the scores level.
The Toffees’ decision not to entertain transfer interest from both PSV and the likes of Manchester United is paying off in a big way for Sean Dyche now.
Michael Keane looks to have been comprehensively relegated to the bench as Branthwaite is now a certain started alongside stand-in captain James Tarkowski.
Too often in recent seasons the Everton defence has fallen apart at the first sign of a struggle but it took a huge slice of bad luck for Brighton to equalise on Saturday with an unfortunate deflection off Ashley Young, but on the whole the back line is looking much-improved.
