Sky drop afternoon transfer bombshell as Liverpool namechecked in summer development | OneFootball

Jarrad Branthwaite is now ‘expected’ to be considering his long-term future following an international snubbing.

The Everton centre-half, who has been linked to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for World Cup qualifiers.

The former Chelsea manager had instead selected Dan Burns (Newcastle), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), and Levei Colwill (Chelsea) as his centre-back options.

The Three Lions are next set to take on Latvia on Monday evening after having beaten Albania 2-0 the prior week.

Sky Sports: Liverpool are keeping tabs on Jarrad Branthwaite

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

A report from Sky Sports now claims that Branthwaite has been further tipped over the edge after failing to make the cut for England duties this March.

Everton themselves are understood to ‘be braced for more interest’ in the Englishman, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs all credited with ongoing interest.

It’s certainly unsurprising to see Arne Slot’s outfit thrown in the mix given our clear and growing need for defensive reinforcements at the end of the 2024/25 season.

Virgil van Dijk, for one, remains set to depart on a free contract and there are some questions that have been asked of Ibrahima Konate’s long-term future ahead of his own terms expiring in 2026.

For the record, we strongly suspect both centre-halves will sign new deals or, at the very least, both feature prominently for Liverpool next term.

Some initial concerns over this reported target

There are some potential red flags that must be noted ahead of the summer window.

First off, Branthwaite’s numbers on and against the ball are hardly astonishing – particularly when it comes to playing passes and asserting aerial dominance.

* Stats courtesy of FBref

The 22-year-old doesn’t come out on top in any metric and only beats Joe Gomez for aerial duel win rate.

To be completely fair, playing for an Everton team with considerably less quality than what is currently available to Liverpool is a mitigating factor.

That may explain why we’ve seen reports back in October claiming that we were prepared to commit serious money to Jarrad Branthwaite’s signing in the winter window.

We’re not so sure he’s worth much more than the likes of Dean Huisen or Nico Schlotterbeck, who have also earned links to Liverpool, but it’s one to perhaps keep an eye on in the coming months.

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