Everton’s financial situation means they will need to sell players in the upcoming summer 2024 transfer window, ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The club needs to sell for the sake of balancing the books, but also needs to sell in order to further balance the team by replacing players sold with useful additions in other areas as well as replacements.
It will need to be savvy with its buys, and those leaving will need to be replaced by spending transfer fees much lower than those received.
As well as Branthwaite and the England goalkeeper, Pickford, there are some other players at Everton who will be of the interest to other clubs.
The most likely to fetch substantial transfer fees are Belgian international midfielder Amadou Onana and striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Vitalii Mykolenko was also solid defensively at left-back alongside Branthwaite, and was low-key one of the best in his position in the league.
Of these players, Branthwaite will be the most difficult to replace. The center-back is a perfect fit for Everton’s requirements and Dyche has chosen him for his team ahead of other more experienced central defenders Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey.
For the same reasons, Branthwaite will be the player who could command the highest transfer fee of Everton’s current crop of players, having been reliable in terms of his availability and consistent in his performances.
He is also good on the ball, able to pass with both feet, and can contribute in build-up play with line-breaking passes.
His skill in possession has been on show during his appearances with an England U21s side that often dominates the ball, unlike Everton, and the Carlisle-born defender has been included in Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for Euro 2024.
The England manager would be wise to include him in his final squad, too, such is Branthwaite’s ability as a left-sided center-back, and this could in turn raise the player’s value even further.
Pickford was named Everton fans’ best player in the 2023/24 season, but in terms of outfield players, Branthwaite, along with the steady presence of Mykolenko to his left, was a key part of the team and will be the most difficult to replace.
Calvert-Lewin will not be easy to replace like-for-like either, but unlike Branthwaite, Calvert-Lewin’s availability has been an issue in the past and during the previous campaign he had a run of 15 league starts without a goal.
Calvert-Lewin’s fitness and availability was much improved in 23/24, though, and there was an encouraging run of games towards the end of the season where he came back into some kind of goalscoring form. This could convince potential suitors that he’s the same all-around threat at center-forward he was before injury setbacks.
Onana is also highly talented, perhaps up there with Branthwaite in terms of his combination of current ability and the potential to improve even further, but he could be the easiest to replace of the rumoured outgoings.
Onana has not stood out for Everton consistently, and though you could see him turning into a world-beater at another club in the same way Anthony Gordon has since his move from Everton to Newcastle, he would be easier to replace than Branthwaite.
Everton will be tempted to sell Branthwaite, as his age and ability mean he will be the player for whom the biggest transfer offers are made.
The club should turn them down, though, if it can afford to do so by selling players in other parts of the team. There is unlikely to be a replacement at Branthwaite’s level out there for the money Everton will be able to spend, and at some point they still need to think about the on-field performance as well as the financial one.
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