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Not my words about Jarrad Branthwaite, but those of Marcel Brands, the director of football who brought the then teenage centre-back to Everton in January 2020, although I would wholeheartedly echo the Dutchman’s sentiments.

I can only agree with what Joe said earlier and about the Cumbrian’s temperament, he seems to have a very balanced head on those broad but young shoulders and hopefully that reassures him that he realizes that the best option for development his is to continue with the Blues next season.

We spoke to Brands last month about Branthwaite and now the PSV Eindhoven chairman had this to say:

“Jarrad has always had huge talent and from day one when he first joined the club he impressed the other players and staff. He had a very good loan spell with us at PSV, so to see him do that is not a surprise to me.

“To be honest, I never had any doubts about him. In principle, he has everything to become one of the best defenders in the world.

“He’s tall, he’s good in the air, he’s always going to score some goals while he’s comfortable on the ball with both feet and quick. The only thing he needs to improve now is experience because he is still very young but he is playing at a high level.

“He has already made the England team. I spoke to Gareth Southgate a few months ago when he was at PSV’s game against Ajax to watch Jordan Henderson and he told me he was impressed with Jarrad’s performances.

“It’s great to see him fulfill his huge potential because he’s a great kid from a great family with good parents who support him the right way. I am very happy for him and also for Everton because he will be a very valuable player in the near future.

“Jarrad’s advantage is that he can play in different styles. He is now very comfortable playing alongside James Tarkowski, who is a player who fits the system Everton play now.

“I think Jarrad can also play in a system like Arsenal or Manchester City with a lot of space at the back because he is so quick and reads the game quite well for such a young lad. I expect him to have a great future, both nationally and maybe even internationally.”

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