David Moyes has explained what he said to Jarrad Branthwaite after he was left out of the England squad as the defender outlined his new stadium ambitions with Everton
David Moyes has lifted the lid on what he told Jarrad Branthwaite following his omission from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad after the centre-back revealed his ambitions to play for Everton in their new stadium.
Branthwaite won his first England cap as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3 last year but was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the European Championships and new national team boss Tuchel has not picked him to take part in the Three Lions’ opening fixtures of 2025, a double header of World Cup qualifiers at Wembley against Albania at Latvia.
Asked in his pre-match press conference to preview Everton’s game with West Ham United on Saturday about the decision not to include Branthwaite, Moyes said: “I don’t pick the England squad. I can only say, if you’re looking at the last six or seven weeks, Jarrad Branthwaite would be up there, playing as well as any English centre-half in the country at this moment in time, that’s for sure.
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“The big thing that he needs to do, he needs to go and play for England Under-21s and be the best player again. Then he gets selected again for the big team.
“So, that’s the instructions I’d be giving him. Go and show what you can do for the Under-21s and Lee Carsley will pass good information back to the manager and hopefully it will get you back in the big squad.”
The Blues boss added: “He doesn’t need picking up because he’s a young centre-half at the moment. If you think of centre-halves, a lot of them play and go on for a long time, so he’s at a very early stage of his career, even to be a full international.
“You’ve got to learn your trade, you’ve got to keep working at it, keep on improving. I told him: ‘Go and play really well for the Under-21s and show Thomas that he should have taken you into the squad.’”
Meanwhile, speaking earlier from the same desk in the media room at Finch Farm, Branthwaite, who was the subject of two rejected bids from Manchester United last summer, outlined his ambition to remain at Everton next season. Answering questions from young supporters ahead of Junior Fan Day on Saturday, the 22-year-old was asked about his ambitions to wear the armband and said: “To be captain one day would be something I’d be thrilled to do. Obviously, I’m still young at the moment and there are more-experienced players than me in the team.
“I think to play at Bramley-Moore as well, you can see how good the stadium is. So, to play there for Everton would be something I look forward to do as well.”
