The defender joined Everton from Carlisle United in 2020. Since joining the Premier League club, he has made only 13 appearances for the Toffees.
Branthwaite spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Blackburn Rovers before joining PSV on loan this season.
The 20-year-old has recovered from a difficult start to the 2022/23 season and is now performing excellently for the Eredivisie club.
Liverpool and Manchester United are ‘on his trail,’ but he has a strong affinity with PSV, where Marcel Brands (former Everton Sporting Director) is the director. The 60-year-old was instrumental as Toffees’ signed Branthwaite in 2020.
Branthwaite has stated that his “relationship” with Brands influenced his decision to join PSV last summer.
“There were other options but this stood out due to the relationship I and the club have with Marcel,” Branthwaite told The Athletic.
“Speaking to people at Everton, they liked the sound of the move as well”.
“My options were still open at the start but PSV wanted me more and more. The conversations I had with PSV, Marcel, Everton and my agent made me more confident that it was the right move.”
Speaking about ex-Everton sporting director Marcel Brands, he said:
“He’s really good. He signed me from Carlisle, which was a big move for me. He was always on the phone to my agent at the time, trying to get the deal done”.
“When I first joined he helped me massively and there’s been a good connection between him and me, my family and my agent ever since. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
“I could have gone to the Championship, but I just fancied a different challenge. It’s (the Eredivisie) a really tough league but Everton wanted this move as well and it’s a big league with a big team,” Branthwaite added.
“There are massive games, like the one against Feyenoord, which are exciting as a player.”
