Branthwaite: Everton should not have been written off so quickly
With three straight wins lifting Everton to sixth, Jarrad Branthwaite says the side were unfairly written off after the transfer window.
Jarrad Branthwaite believes Everton were unfairly "written off" following a turbulent transfer window.
Everton have won their last three matches in all competitions, beating Newcastle United twice, in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League, before overcoming Coventry City. The run marked the first time since August 2025 that Everton had recorded three consecutive victories.
That spell of form has taken David Moyes's side up to sixth in the Premier League, while they have also booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Fleetwood Town.
Everton's start to the season came hot on the heels of a disappointing deadline day, when Iliman Ndiaye, Tim Iroegbunam, Nathan Patterson and Beto were sold and only Jack Grealish and Ainsley Maitland-Niles were brought in to replace them.
After the move for Folarin Balogun collapsed at the last minute and supporters' anger grew, The Friedkin Group put the club up for sale just 22 months after taking over.
With Jack Grealish missing the last four matches through illness and a disciplinary breach, Branthwaite, who has been called up to the England squad by Thomas Tuchel, believes Everton's quality has been underestimated.
The impressive centre-back said: "As a group of players and coaching staff, we are exactly where we want to be. Our aim at the start of the season was to go all the way in the cups as well, and right now we are doing that as well as we possibly can. When the transfer window closed, people had almost written us off because of our reduced numbers; they were saying the squad would not be good enough. But I think we have proved we can compete for the top places. Our aim as a team is to keep this winning mentality going."