4 weeks ago
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David Moyes' players are thrilled that Jarrod Branthwaite has pledged his future to Everton until 2030.
That's the insider perspective from the Blues camp courtesy of Michael Keane, who partnered the 23-year-old at center-back during the team's opening pre-season friendly of the summer, where Branthwaite wore the captain's armband. Liverpool was linked with Branthwaite over the past few months, but the player has instead committed his future to the Toffees.
Despite the pair competing for a starting position, Keane, who took over captaincy duties after the interval in Tuesday's 1-1 stalemate at Accrington Stanley, admitted his delight that Everton's most prized asset has chosen to remain as the Premier League club transitions from Goodison Park to Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He said: "It was brilliant (that Branthwaite signed a new contract). I was really happy that he's decided to stay.
"He's still really young, especially for a centre-half. He's got a huge future ahead of him.
"Everton is a huge football club and there's no rush to leave. He's playing Premier League football, can keep learning and getting more experience can be really important for him going forward.
"I think it's great for everyone involved and we're really happy to have Jarrad still here. He's really calm. It's just how he is as a person. His personality off the pitch is really calm and he's never flustered, you can see that in how he plays, he's a brilliant player."
Keane, who has been at Everton since 2017, witnessed his own five-year deal expire this summer before securing a fresh one-year contract that was confirmed on July 4. Despite the competition from James Tarkowski – who notched up 109 consecutive Premier League starts for the club before a hamstring injury against Manchester City in April – and Jake O'Brien, as well as Branthwaite, he's adamant that he's not at Everton just to fill a spot on the roster.
The 32-year-old said: "I'm happy with the role the manager has got for me. He hasn't said to me, 'You're fourth choice, and you're going to be on the bench all season,' he's asked me to compete, train as well as I can and play well, when I get the chance.
"That's what I'm here to do. I'm hopeful that there will be points in the season where I do get to play and show what I can do like I did at the end of last season, so I've just got to train hard like I've always done, and be ready."
Discussing the resolution of his future, Keane added: "It feels good as I didn't like the uncertainty of not knowing what I was going to do, or where I was going to be, so to get it sorted just before pre-season started, I was really happy. Now I can just get my head down, crack on and focus on football."
Everton is set to face Blackburn on Saturday, and after a trio of matches in the United States against Bournemouth, West Ham, and Manchester United, the Toffees will wrap up their pre-season with a historic first team match on the Mersey waterfront on August 9 against Serie A outfit Roma.
All tickets for the game at the 52,769-capacity Hill Dickinson Stadium have already been snapped up.
Keane said: "I'm sure everyone is buzzing for the Roma game as it will be the first time the stadium is full, so that's really exciting and I'm sure the atmosphere will be amazing. I'm looking forward to hearing it and looking forward to being there and I'm sure every fan is too."
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