There's an old adage in football that the table must not be judged until Christmas. Until then, it's full throttle ahead. Fight, fight, fight, but don't look at the leaderboard looming overhead.
Just fight. It's a maxim that Everton will have embraced after the opening matches of the Premier League campaign, for Sean Dyche has tasted defeat, three on the bounce, to sentence his side to the bottommost position England's top-flight offers.
Last season, the Toffees lost their opening three league fixtures and all was rather gloomy at Goodison Park, but Dyche is a stoic sort and he rallied his troops as the campaign shuffled forward, finishing comfortably in 16th despite being hit with an eight-point deduction for financial breaches.
At this stage, the Blues will be focused on finding a vein of form to lift them away from the relegation fodder, but as they chase their quarry it's paramount that the most influential players at the outfit stay fit, bringing a focal presence.
We're not just talking about Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but he's one of the most obvious…
The importance of Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin featured regularly last season, and though the England international found the back of the net just seven times, his return to fitness was welcomed after previous years of frustration and persistent setbacks.
He finished strong too, with four goals throughout April and May, and though Everton have endured a tough time to start the new season off, his goal-and-assist performance against Bournemouth suggests that he could be ready for an influential campaign.
A strikeforce to stoke the fears of divisional rivals does remain… elusive, but Everton have been faced with a new problem across these opening weeks of the season: a lack of defensive security.
Last year was characterised by an ebb and flow, but the push and pull of form rarely saw the backline sit at the crux of the problems.
1.
Arsenal
18
2.
Man City
17
3.
Everton
13
4.
Liverpool
10
5.
Fulham
10
Of course, Everton lost their first three games last season, so can right the wrongs of August. Moreover, Jarrad Branthwaite has yet to grace the season with his presence, and the significance of this cannot be understated.
Jarrad Branthwaite's absence
It's been keenly felt. Branthwaite is a hulking mass of muscle and energy, a defensive demon cruising toward a starring spot in the Premier League. In the words of former CEO Keith Wyness, he's a "generational" talent.
He was excellent last season, fusing with the experienced James Tarkowski and keeping 12 of those 13 clean sheets across his 35 appearances, but he's been sidelined since pre-season with a groin problem and does not look likely to return as his side take on Aston Villa this weekend.
There is a pattern. Last year, Branthwaite was benched across Everton's opening two matches, with both ending in defeat to an aggregate scoreline of 5-0. He missed one match thereafter, due to a yellow-card suspension, and has been acclaimed for his tough-tackling and commanding displays at the rear.
Everton hope to see greater fluency and confidence over the coming months but the 22-year-old will be a key cog in achieving this, ranking around the 20% mark of defenders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles, interceptions, clearances, blocks and aerial battles won per 90, as per FBref.
He's aggressive but not to a fault. Standing at 6 foot 5, it's no surprise that Branthwaite won 67% of his aerial battles last year, but he also won 68% of his ground duels too.
To contextualise that: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, widely considered one of Europe's finest defenders, won 64% of his ground duels last year and has emerged on top 60% of the time across the opening three Premier League games this term.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig described him as an "absolute monster", and Everton fans will be hoping for his imminent return to fitness, for Michael Keane does not bring more than a semblance of security to Dyche's defensive line.
Jarrad Branthwaite's market value in 2024/25
Everton have lacked all sense of tactical and defensive purchase thus far, though the defeat against Bournemouth last time out was caused by a late-stage collapse that negated the fine work of 85 minutes.
The quality and togetherness are there, they really are. Time and time again Everton have battled through adversity to preserve their top-flight status, and Dyche has the tools to ensure that remains.
He has Branthwaite. The centre-half, who made his Three Lions debut in June, was certainly not short of suitors throughout the summer – with the ghastly prospect of Liverpool signing him emerging, though, of course, this proved to be little more than hearsay.
Far more concrete, however, was the interest of Manchester United, with David Ornstein revealing that Erik ten Hag's side had made a lowball bid of £35m back in June, swiftly rejected.
The Red Devils had proposed enticing terms that would have seen Branthwaite's earnings skyrocket toward £160k per week, but it fell some distance wide of the £75m valuation that the Merseysiders demanded.
Everton believe Branthwaite sits at the table of Europe's finest defenders, with that valuation arriving in the same ballpark as figures paid for Van Dijk, Wesley Fofana and Harry Maguire, to name a few in the Premier League.
What this means, incredibly, is that Branthwaite's market value has soared since Dyche's appointment back in January 2023, when the up-and-coming defender was enjoying a loan spell in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven.
Transfermarkt crunched the numbers and worked out that the Englishman was worth just £6m at that time, with his significant rise since a product of his tireless work and keen-edged footballing mind, mixed with a healthy portion of elite athleticism and natural talent.
In fact, his current £75m price tag means that his value has risen by a ludicrous 1150%, truly cementing him as one of the finest players Everton have boasted in a long while.
Buckle up, it's going to be an interesting season. But with Branthwaite at the back, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
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