Blackburn boss praises Everton loanee Jarrad Branthwaite, regrets his scouts didn’t find him first
Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has showered Everton loanee Jarrad Branthwaite with praise and predicts a bright future for the 18-year-old.
Branthwaite made his first loan move away from Goodison Park in January when he joined the Lancashire club to help solve their defensive crisis.
It has been less than a month but he has already drawn huge admiration from Mowbray after turning in some dazzling displays in the Championship.
As reported on The Athletic website the Rovers boss was effusive in his praise for Branthwaite, saying: “Jarrad is 18 and he’s another one who belies his age. He plays like he’s 28.”
Mowbray added: “He is some player. It’s a position I know pretty well, having played there for 18 years, and I think he’s got a huge future in front of him.
“We really like him. I’ve been moaning to my recruitment department. ‘Why did Everton find him at Carlisle? Why didn’t we?’”
Making his mark
There are high hopes for Branthwaite on Merseyside and he has made an impressive start to life at Ewood Park.
Since his January arrival he has made himself an ever-present in the Rovers backline starting all four of their games.
The Championship play-off contenders have lost just one of these fixtures, their last game v QPR, and have only conceded twice since Branthwaite came into the side, keeping two clean sheets in the process.
It’s early days yet but with a club-high 3.3 tackles per game he is asserting his authority in the Rovers team and he is also proving a colossus in the air, winning 4.5 aerials duels per game [WhoScored].
He may need to brush up on his ball-playing abilities with a lowly 69.2% pass accuracy but that could also have a lot to do with the rough and tumble nature of the Championship where teams are scrapping for points and sometimes adopt an ‘anything will do’ policy late on in games.
At Goodison News we like what we have seen so far from Branthwaite and think Mowbray is bang on in his comments – the future is bright.
In other Everton news, see our view on the selection issue facing Carlo Ancelotti after this ace’s awful display.