Everton will be playing in the Premier League once again next season after their 1-0 win over Brentford at Goodison Park on Saturday sealed their safety.
The Toffees have avoided the drop under Sean Dyche, who has led the team to four wins in their last five to achieve survival, and can now look ahead to the summer transfer window and the 2024/25 campaign.
Young star Jarrad Branthwaite has been one of the most impressive performers for the club throughout the Premier League this term, and his success is a credit to the recruitment team who picked him up from the lower leagues.
The towering centre-back was snapped up as a teenager and has now developed into a big asset, who could be sold for millions this summer, that the club can hit the jackpot with over the coming months.
How much Everton paid for Jarrad Branthwaite
Back in January 2020, Everton swooped to sign Branthwaite from League Two side Carlisle for a reported transfer fee of £1m, at the age of just 17.
The youngster had already played 14 times for Carlisle's first-team, including nine appearances in League Two, and went on to play four times in the Premier League for the Toffees during the second half of that season.
After failing to immediately nail down a place as a regular in the first-team, the English ace went out on loan to PSV during the 2022/23 campaign and caught the eye with his defensive work, as you can see in the table below.
Appearances
27
Sofascore rating
6.97
Duel success rate
56%
Clearances
92
Pass accuracy
87%
He won the majority of his defensive duels, completed his passes to a high percentage, and made over three clearances per game on average for the Dutch side.
Jarrad Branthwaite's current market value
His form for PSV earned him a chance in the first-team under Dyche this season and the 21-year-old's performances in the Premier League have given Everton the chance to hit the jackpot this summer.
Football Insider reported earlier this month that English giants Manchester United believe that a bid of up to £70m will be enough to secure his services, as they eye up a deal to sign the left-footed colossus.
A £70m sale in the coming months would represent a mammoth 6,900% profit for the Toffees, which shows that the club would have struck gold on the initial £1m that they paid to sign him from Carlisle over four years ago.
Branthwaite has started 32 games in the Premier League so far this season, scoring his third goal in the win over Liverpool last week, and has dominated opposition attackers with a duel success rate of 67%.
The Red Devils target is second within the squad for interceptions per game (1.5) and clearances per match (4.4), sixth for tackles per game (1.9), and second for accurate passes per clash (30.8), which speaks to his importance defensively and in possession.
Everton could now hit the jackpot by cashing in on Branthwaite, who was hailed as "complete" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, for £70m in the summer and reinvesting that money into more young talent for Dyche to develop over the years to come.