Manchester City are set to strengthen this summer – and one of the club’s targets left a lasting impression on Alan Shearer after his display at the weekend.
Pep Guardiola watched his side beat Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
After a very quick turnaround from the defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League – something which has been widely slammed – City took on the Blues, and ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a goal from Bernardo Silva.
While City were in cup action, there were other Premier League games going on.
Everton took on Nottingham Forest, with the Toffees recording a huge 2-0 win. There has been a big fallout from that game, after Forest were denied three penalties. The club have since put out three statements about the officiating and have requested VAR audio to be released.
All the talk about that has somewhat overshadowed the actual game, but Alan Shearer moved to praise a player Manchester City reportedly have interest in…
Alan Shearer left very impressed by ‘assured’ reported Manchester City target Jarrad Branthwaite
If Everton are going to stay in the Premier League, it will be important for them to be solid at the back.
Key to picking up points is not being easy to score against and so, it’s a big few weeks for Jarrad Branthwaite and co.
Branthwaite made his 36th appearance of the season on Sunday for the Toffees – and it was a strong display from the 21-year-old central defender.
Sofascore data indicates that he completed 40/46 (87%) passes, and a whopping seven clearances. He also made two interceptions and three tackles.
Branthwaite’s display caught the eye of Alan Shearer, who has selected the defender in his latest Premier League Team of the Week. He said of him (via premierleague.com): “He looked so assured at the back as Everton recorded another Goodison Park clean sheet, earning what could be a vital victory in their battle to stay up.”
Branthwaite is bound to appeal to Guardiola
So this was another great display from Branthwaite, who has really caught the eye since coming into the Toffees’ backline after his loan season with PSV Eindhoven.
Everton have struggled as a collective, but Branthwaite’s form has largely been very good, which was recently emphasised by the fact he was called into the England squad.
Granted, he did not have the best game against City at the Etihad, and fans will probably remember Erling Haaland shoving him to the ground to score his second goal that day. But Haaland, as we all know, is a powerhouse capable of doing that to anyone.
Branthwaite is apparently a player Manchester City like – and you can understand why.
The £60 million-valued ace plays in a very calm and composed way, and he has already drawn comparisons to John Stones – who is obviously a player Pep adores.
Former City captain Vincent Kompany recently branded Branthwaite ‘really promising’, which has to count for a lot. It remains to be seen if City will swoop, but given the general weakening of the defence this season, and the fact Stones’ injury record is what it is, then it’s surely possible.
