Where Jarrad Branthwaite must improve to fully realise Everton 'leader' goal

Jarrad Branthwaite feels like he and a few others have "grown into" leadership roles at Everton.

This summer saw a number of big characters leave Everton.

Iliman Ndiaye, Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gana Gueye were the three big departures in terms of a leadership standpoint.

As such, David Moyes' squad is in need of some players to start stepping up and form a new era of Toffees tone-setters.

The fact that Everton currently sit seventh in the Premier League and remain unbeaten in all competitions this season, suggests this is being achieved.

Branthwaite feels like he's part of that group, but his numbers in some key areas suggest the 24-year-old isn't quite there just yet.

What did Jarrad Branthwaite and David Moyes discuss at Everton this summer?

Branthwaite has long felt like a captain of the future, both from his time at Everton and during his loan spells away from Merseyside.

He's always been a defender mature beyond his years, and the fact he's still only 24 is hard to believe.

Whilst James Tarkowski is the club captain, Branthwaite has skippered the side during pre-season.

That's a clear sign from Everton that they're preparing him to succeed Tarkowski in the near future, and Branthwaite wants that responsibility.

Speaking with the Everton website, via X, he's made it clear that he wants to become a figurehead at Hill Dickinson Stadium moving forward.

"Over the summer we had a conversation with the manager about getting another group of leaders together, as we had a big leader leave us," he said.

"There's a couple of us who have grown into that role. It takes time, but hopefully I can become a leader."

But it's one thing saying that, and it's another proving it on the pitch, but has Branthwaite done enough in that regard so far this season?

How Branthwaite ranks in key leader areas this season

For a centre-back, leadership means to be seen setting the tone, winning your duels and covering plenty of ground for the team.

This isn't to say Branthwaite doesn't do this or that he doesn't have leadership material, as that's not the case.

However, what his numbers evidently reveal is that he needs to much more in certain departments before he can be seen as a true leader and captain.

Per FotMob, he ranks in the bottom 48.4 percentile of all Premier League centre-backs this season for his 21 total sprints.

Meanwhile, his 4.20 duels won per game rank him in the bottom 39.1 per cent and his 1.00 tackles won per 90 place him in the lowest 37.5 percentile.

He's also yet to receive a yellow card this season, which is of course not a bad thing, but to be a leader at the back means to get stuck in.

Think of most great Premier League centre-backs and captains: the vast majority were prone to bookings because they set the tone.

Branthwaite's 10.0 kilometres covered, 2.80 recoveries and 38.6 successful passes per game are all comfortably below Premier League average at his position.

He's got the tools to be a top captain and leader, but this data proves he's got some way to go yet.