Jarrad Branthwaite shows his class as footage shared straight after Everton win
Jarrad Branthwaite showed a moment of class as Everton thrashed Wolves 4-0 on a rare comfortable night at Goodison Park.
As pointed out on X by the Liverpool Echo's Tony Scott [4 December], Branthwaite - who has kept a clean sheet in three of his five appearances this season - gave a shirt to a fan at Goodison Park immediately following the final whistle.
The centre-half has for the most part drastically improved Sean Dyche's backline since recovering from injury, and topped off a memorable Wednesday night by making the supporter's season.
Scott posted a video from up in the stands at Goodison, captioned: "Full time scenes - EFC 4-0 Wolves. Young salutes supporters. Branthwaite gives shirt to fan. Gary O'Neil booed by Wolves fans."
Jarrad Branthwaite must remain an Everton player after January
Everton were admirable in the manner they stood firm to beat away the major interest in Branthwaite over the summer, particularly from Manchester United.
His groin injury kept him out of the spotlight for a sustained period, but his return has improved the side - with the ironic exception of last weekend's 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
Branthwaite belies his young age to act as a calm but commanding influence on the rearguard which when things are going well, transmits throughout the whole team.
Everton will almost certainly not let him go in January. It would be the biggest dose of self-inflicted damage in a long time at Goodison, and that's saying something.
There is zero way of adequately replacing him with such short notice, and Dyche knows the task ahead and the limits of his side. They must secure safety and go again in their new arena, under new ownership, with or without both Branthwaite and Dyche.
In other Everton news, Mark Clattenburg has his say on the decision to disallow James Tarkowski's goal.
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