Branthwaite gets first England call

Nowadays, it is a chance for tapping up and sowing discontent. Having said that, well done to him. It will be the first of many.

It would be great to have him stay until he's 40 and captain the side in the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock when we're in the Champions League.

Isn't it funny Phillips dropped from the panel, now that he's playing first-team football instead of sitting on Man City's bench.

And an indirect recognition of our general defensive solidity.

I'm really happy for the lad but, being completely selfish, I'd rather right now nobody in our squad got any national team callup.

Had we been in a better league position or had a bigger squad all fighting for position, then all well and good. However, right now, not for me.

I got called up for the old U23s at 17.

However, much like the Oscars, Grammys and Birthday honors list, the England selection has little merit anymore when brown nosers like Henderson still get selected.

Not sure if Gordon is really England material despite one or two good showings for the Barcodes.

Best of luck to the boy. I see Gordon was also called up.

Good times!

If he was my lad, I would pack his bags for him... no danger!

Sorry Jeff, I was joking with Brent.

He plays an absolute blinder and we get over £100M for him.

Pleased for Gordon too.

I had my fears we wouldn't hold onto him having watched him closely. Unless he is committed to Everton, this could see him go in the summer, so enjoy him while we can.

He plays with composure and defensive ability beyond his 21 years.

I don't want to see him go, but if he does, we stand to make a huge profit on the £1M we paid for him.

We're in a downward spiral and have been since we let Rooney go.

The blind hope in me hopes he'll stay for a while. I love watching him play.

Great that Man City also appear to be interested – looks like Branthwaite will have his choice of clubs.

Everyone is aghast that Dyche says we have no one in the youth set-up to come through but, when we did, we sold them as soon as the cheque book beckoned. Even Simms and Cannon would surely have added something to the squad this season?

Dobbin will be the next to go and as soon as Chermiti's value goes up, we'll sell him anyway.

What is the point??

Good luck to Branthwaite and any who leave, the job of keeping the wolf from the door might not be an edifying spectacle but it is all we have.

A miracle worker akin to Shankly, Clough or Jose might give us a season or two of hope but only Jimmy the Sheikh will deliver us long term.

Leverkusen sold Diaby to Villa for big money last summer. They already had his replacement, Adli, at the club. They used the proceeds to sign Boniface, Tella and others – and are now set to win the Bundesliga.

They have a side full of excellent players all bought for fairly modest sums. But bought specifically because they had the talent, style and potential to play Champions League football.

The current Liverpool success is all built on the sale of Suarez and Coutinho – who were bought with the proceeds of selling Torres.

I wished a few Prague fans the best today to stick one on Old Nick tonight, as I was finishing work at 5 p.m.

I have hope that Everton will prevail on all fronts this season and come out stronger. The club and the fans have been through the mincer and rinsed for 30-odd years.

But hope prevails and a force of nature in terms of supporters that the other Premier League clubs can't touch. Evertonians will never be beaten, never, come what may.

Made up for Brainthwaite, he will be England's Captain very soon and for Everton we are blessed at this time. Ratcliffe was good but this lad is a different class. If and when he is auctioned, top prices only.

The irony will be the club will have sold its best player and asset and will have to rebuild. Sysiphus again, like when Rooney was sold to keep the club breathing.

Moshiri and the late Bill Kenwright, you well and truly have brought Everton FC to its knees. The eternal fight goes on, and it will be for ever eternal, unless there's a genuine finance house who's willing to take Everton back to business as usual and normality.

Solace and time to energise for the battles to come.

Everton have to sign these young gems more consistently.

Let's face it, folks, he's going to have to be sold unfortunately.

The club needs players and, as much as you want to keep the brightest young talent, the years of ineptitude have put us in such a terrible position, unfortunately.

I'm made up for the kid, for getting called into the England squad, so hopefully he gets a game, and keeps on improving as he makes each step up along the way.

As for him leaving, I would wish him all the best. Those that would get upset if he will not stay at Everton: How many have stayed at their first job when offered more money and more prestige at another job?

You are quite right in blaming the board and Chairman at Everton for their rapid slide down the table, but I still blame the Premier League for allowing Abromovich to buy Chelsea at their aptly named ground, the Shed, to then buy the league tirtle, the FA Cup and other silverware in Europe.

Also, the Government welcoming the Soviet Billionaires to reside in London, buying property and investing millions.

Rant over, going to lie down.

No win in 11 games. Multiple chances, shots on target, and no goals. Calvert-Lewin and Beto are the worst strikers in the Premier League. I'm totally convinced they are devoid of basic football skills.

I'm ashamed to support this club. Dyche's excuses are endless. Same old narrative: "If only… small margins… performances are good."

Sorry, he's delusional and we will go down.

I hope Thelwell will get some of the money to bring in a new centre-half, right-back, and a playmaker. Branthwaite's money, along with the savings from Godfrey, Keane, Gomes and Alli, should enable us to move forward and clear out some shite.

On a side note, it's great to see Ajax's cretin Henderson getting thumped.

Him moving on, which he will, is what makes the Premier League a joke of a competition.

The regular Champions League teams have the rest of us over a barrel, as soon as anyone else produces a top prospect, in they come and snatch him up. What's the point!

This cycle needs to be broken but I'm afraid I've not a clue how. Usmanov unfettered might have been the answer, or you never know… a super-rich Arab.

My only worry is that sometimes he challenges with his wrong foot and, on a couple of occasions, he has been lucky, getting the ball first. Something to work on perhaps.

I expect someone will offer £50M with add-ons and we will have to accept it.

This is exactly what Brighton did when they knew that Bissouma would be leaving in a season's time and brought in Caciedo (for £7M!) and he had a season to develop, watch and learn from Bissouma before stepping into his shoes.

Southgate also praising Dyche for Branthwaite's development over the last 12 months is positive.

Surprised Mainoo from Man Utd hasn't had the call-up, Henderson needs to be dropped; also, no idea how Dunk is in there.

He would probably take at least a season to adjust to the Premier League and I'm not sure he'll be quite as good as Branthwaite but buying him for £15-20M and selling Branthwaite for £70-90M is the sort of good business we need to be doing over the next few years.

Pointless playing at international level unless you are playing with better players and Maguire is certainly not better than Tarkowski.

As Robert Tressell has said, we need to become a selling club to develop. The crux of our issues is, as the Athletic article (cited in the James Vaughan thread) suggests, we were a buying club, with no plans whatsoever in terms of resale value. Liverpool have competed with Manchester City on the basis of their ability to recoup money from player sales and invest well. We're light-years from them, but there's a pathway.

If we come through relatively unscathed on PSR, we'll actually be in a position to make bank on his sale, rather than be bent over the pool table as we were on Richarlison and Gordon, sales that were made under pressure, because the Premier League had leaked our need to sell.

If we develop and sell young players for a couple of years, we should then have the financial ability to start to play front-foot football, fill the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, and keep our young prospects.

Players in his ear, "Come to Man Utd… Arsenal… Man City."
In an ideal world, we would already have his replacement out on loan like Jarrad was, ready to come back this season to integrate into the first team.

It's going to be a key window this summer.

He doesn't go forward nearly enough. I rarely see him hit a cross-field diagonal out to the right or play it to McNeil or Mykoenko in stride. If he does, he usually rolls it to a midfielder.

Defensively, I see someone who wants to bully or throw a tackle more than break down and defend. That doesn't work all the time at this level.

We have a player with super potential who isn't good enough to play, week-in & week-out for a top top side yet. Right now, we are perfect for Jarrad and there are few better professionals than Coleman and Tarkowski to learn from.

But that's kind of like hoping your striker doesn't score goals so no-one wants to sign them.

Jarrad is a very good player with a lot of potential. He will be sold not because he's too good for Everton, but because that's how clubs manage their finances. We haven't been good enough to be able to buy and sell on our terms... so we instead have to sell whatever we have of value.

I watch Branthwaite a lot. Not his style.

Tarkowski and Pickford do the punting. That's not a criticism, sometimes it comes off.

Branthwaite tends to look for the shorter pass. It would help if we had an effective midfield to turn the game and affect play.

Let's remember he is still only 21, which is very young for a centre back let alone any other player. But as I keep saying, he plays beyond his years.

Very calm and composed and not afraid of the ball. Strong in the air. A good defender who anticipates well and reads the game. And he's not afraid to send it when it needs to go.

An elegant player who is going to be special. Let's hope it is with us for a few more seasons, but just enjoy him while we can.

Tactics and instructions may lend to your point about not carrying forward. It tends to be how we are set up for a lot of games. That must come from the bench. And back to my continuous points to our midfield options.

Let's remember he's only 21 and has potential to be immense but he isn't immense yet. Calmness or nonchalance is great when you're a Rolls-Royce defender but he isn't yet

If he gets his head turned, then sell him and reinvest because we have a squad of less than 15 players.

Onana this year and Branthwaite next year… but I don't see either playing in the new stadium.

He was originally released from the Arsenal academy and then taken back a few years later.

Burnley tried to sign him before he went to Sunderland, but the deal broke down for a paltry fee of less than £3M.

I have watched him on TV many times this season and last as my grandson lives and breathes Sunderland, living in Cleadon, near South Shields.

Right-sided player but a big strong lad who wouldn't cost the earth should we lose our jewel in the crown.

Hope Branthwaite is wrapped in cotton wool.