England boss Thomas Tuchel revealed his controversial squad on Friday morning ahead of this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Latvia and Albania. However, the squad did not include Branthwaite who won his first England cap as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3rd last year.
Moyes spoke in his recent press conference about the decision and what the 22-year-old can do to get back in the side, which is filled with top talent in every position.
“I don’t pick the England squad. I can only say, if you’re looking at the last six or seven weeks, Jarrad Branthwaite would be up there, playing as well as any English centre-half in the country at this moment in time, that’s for sure.
“The big thing that he needs to do, he needs to go and play for England Under-21s and be the best player again. Then he gets selected again for the big team. So, that’s the instructions I’d be giving him. Go and show what you can do for the Under-21s and Lee Carsley will pass good information back to the manager and hopefully it will get you back in the big squad.”
The Everton head coach who has played and managed the game since the early 1980s, says the defender has a lot to learn as not every talented young player is thrown straight into the England squad.
“He doesn’t need picking up because he’s a young centre-half at the moment. If you think of centre-halves, a lot of them play and go on for a long time, so he’s at a very early stage of his career, even to be a full international.
“You’ve got to learn your trade, you’ve got to keep working at it, keep on improving. I told him: ‘Go and play really well for the Under-21s and show Thomas that he should have taken you into the squad.’”
The Toffees face West Ham United this weekend, Moyes’ old club. Branthwaite is likely to start in a defence that has proven more than capable as they remain unbeaten after the departure of former manager Sean Dyche. If Branthwaite is consistent for the rest of the season, he may find himself top of Tuchel’s list ahead of the World Cup in 2026 but as Moyes said he must first develop and learn as much as he can over the coming months.