Worth way more than Van Dijk: Everton hit gold on “physical beast”

Everton have a crucial set of fixtures ahead of them, but optimism is anew on the blue half of Merseyside, welcoming Bournemouth in the FA Cup before hosting the Merseyside derby next week.

David Moyes‘ galvanising return has been followed by an excellent run of form, Everton winning three on the trot in the Premier League, thrashing both Tottenham and Leicester City and winning away at Brighton.

Goals conceded? None. The Toffees have breathing room at the bottom end of the Premier League table, and can focus on the forthcoming tie against Bournemouth with a bit less anxiety.

It’s all down to Moyes.

How David Moyes has revived Everton

Moyes has won as many top-flight fixtures this season, three from four games, as his predecessor, Sean Dyche, who was dismissed after 19 games in 2024/25.

Already, the Scottish tactician has restored the belief on the field and ignited Goodison Park, raising the decibels to its roaring max.

Attacking inspiration is back, with Everton averaging only 1.9 big chances per game across the whole of the Premier League season, as per Sofascore, but averaging 3.3 across the four Moyes-led matches so far.

Of course, Moyes has inherited one of the division’s most resilient and disciplined defensive units, but he’s got the skills to elevate the rearguard to the next level.

His arrival will lift and help to develop many Toffees players, with Jarrad Branthwaite surely at the top of that group.

Moyes has hit the jackpot on Jarrad Branthwaite

Hailed as a “physical beast” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Branthwaite emerged as one of the Premier League’s finest young defenders last season, keeping 13 clean sheets from 35 games as Dyche’s durable side avoided relegation comfortably despite being hit with an eight-point deduction for financial breaches.

An academy graduate, after initially joining as a 17-year-old from Carlisle for £1m, he’s already proving himself to be one of the finest Finch Farm talents since one Wayne Rooney waltzed onto the scene.

He’d missed the opening phase of the current campaign – absent for seven of the opening eight matches – after injuring his back in the summer, and is it any surprise that Everton lacked their defensive solidity without the young titan in the line-up?

The 22-year-old ridiculously won 78% of his ground duels this season and will hope to see an uptick in possession now that Moyes is at the helm, maintaining Everton’s counter-attacking roots but looking to be a bit more controlled in the build-up.

Manchester United are believed to have retained their interest in the £75m-rated centre-back after failing to sign him last summer, with Manchester City and Liverpool also lurking.

Seeing him leave for the despised Merseyside neighbours would be a deplorable outcome, but with Virgil van Dijk, 33, out of contract at the end of the season, FSG’s interest is understandable.

It bears testament to Branthwaite’s potential, already worth more than three times more than the £23m-rated Van Dijk – as per Transfermarkt – and is still yet to reach his prime years.

So athletic and imposing at the back, the England international is proving to be a force for Everton, integral in keeping Moyes’ system airtight, and even if he is to be sold in the coming years, the Toffees would bank a pretty and then some.

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