Jarrad Paul Branthwaite

Branthwaite's route to Everton's first team began far from Merseyside, in Carlisle United's academy, where he arrived at the age of eight. He stayed until 2019, when he signed his first professional contract and made his senior debut for the club that October, playing nine league games before Everton paid a reported £1 million for him in January 2020.

Everton sent him to Blackburn Rovers for the second half of the 2020–21 season, where an ankle injury limited him to ten appearances. A second loan, to PSV Eindhoven in July 2022, proved more eventful: he made 36 appearances across all competitions, scored four goals, and won the KNVB Cup — a final in which he scored an own goal before PSV won on penalties.

He returned to Everton for the 2023–24 season, picking up both the club's Young Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards. The same year brought international recognition: he won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with England's under-21s, then received his first senior call-up in March 2024. He made his England debut on 3 June 2024, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, though he was later left out of the final squad for UEFA Euro 2024 having been named in the provisional group.

In July 2025, Everton tied their centre-back down with a contract extension running until 2030.