Jarrad Branthwaite has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract to remain at Everton until the end of June 2025, with the option for a further year.
And the 19-year-old centre-back wants to achieve the “massive honour” of figuring regularly for the Blues’ First Team after committing his future to the Club.
Defender Branthwaite has progressed rapidly following a move from League Two Carlisle United in January 2020.
The teenager made a Premier League debut in July of the same year, weeks after Everton exercised an option to extend Branthwaite’s original terms by 12 months following his 18th birthday.
Branthwaite has been a regular in Rafa Benitez’s senior squad after impressing the manager following an injury-delayed start to his pre-season.
He started the Carabao Cup win at Huddersfield Town in August, adding to four Premier League outings towards the end of 2019/10 and one league cup appearance last term.
“It feels like Everton have full belief in me so I have to show them what I can do,” Branthwaite told evertontv.
“I am buzzing to get the deal done and commit my future to the Club. The way Everton have treated me and the pathway I can see are why I was eager to stay longer.
“The games I’ve had show there is a place for me in the side.
“Playing for Everton’s First Team is a massive honour. I want more so I have to prove I am good enough to be there and keep progressing.
“My main objective is to play as many games as possible and help the team.
“The manager is very good with me.
“Every day, he is talking to me, helping me with what I need to develop, doing little things after training.
“We are working on my right foot and my passing and the agility side, moving my feet quicker, so I can defend better in one-on-one situations.
“He has been brilliant.”
Branthwaite, who played 14 matches for Carlisle prior to his Everton transfer, spent the second half of last season on loan with Blackburn Rovers.
He played 10 times in the Championship – including nine straight games directly after arriving – but was prevented from adding to his tally by an ankle injury that curtailed his campaign.
The centre-half’s recovery period coincided with Benitez’s first pre-season at Goodison Park, Branthwaite making his playing comeback in an Under-23 fixture on 7 August – one week before the dawn of the new Premier League season.
“The loan was challenging but very good for my development,” said Branthwaite, who is competing for a position in the middle of Everton’s defence with the English trio of Ben Godfrey, Michael Keane and Mason Holgate and Colombia World Cup star Yerry Mina.
“I developed my maturity level at Blackburn and enjoyed my time there.
“The injury was very frustrating, I missed the end of the season, then pre-season at Everton when the new manager came, which sets you back a bit.
“But my aim was to get fully fit and show the manager what I could do.
“The centre-backs are challenging each other every day, trying to perform to our best, helping each other out and, for me, trying to get in the team.
“My first day training with the First Team was a massive jump and training with good players every day and learning new things has been brilliant.
“I have matured a lot in my game and developed new skills.”
