‘Could’ve gone to Championship’: Player explains not joining Sunderland

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One-time Sunderland target Jarrad Branthwaite admits he turned down Championship offers in favour of a loan move to Eredivisie challengers PSV Eindhoven over the summer, speaking to The Athletic. 

Mason Mount, Dominic Solanke, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Armando Broja to name but four; Branthwaite would not be the first exciting young talent to return from a footballing education in the Netherlands with his reputation, and his skillset, greatly enhanced. 

The England U20 international joined PSV on loan from Everton in July despite interest from a whole host of second-tier clubs; Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Blackpool, Cardiff City and Sunderland (Daily Mail). 

“I could have gone to the Championship,” Branthwaite explains. But I just fancied a different challenge. (The Eredivisie) is a really tough league. But Everton wanted this move as well and it’s a big league with a big team.” 

Jarrad Branthwaite left Everton for a loan spell at PSV Eindhoven

Branthwaite, formerly of Carlisle United, has already made seven first-team appearances for a PSV side sitting just two points adrift of Eredivisie pacesetters AZ Alkmaar. He even scored in a thrilling, 4-3 victory over Feyenoord a couple of weeks ago. 

And Branthwaite feels that PSV’s possession-based style should aid his adaptation to life on England’s biggest stage when he returns to Goodison Park in 2023. 

“We focus a lot more on playing from the back,” Branthwaite adds. “The Premier League is like that now, but not every team tries to do it. Over here, every team does.

“It’s nothing new, as we used to try to do that at Everton. That’s probably one of the reasons I was sent here.

“(Head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy) has been great. He’s hands-on, looking to get in the middle of sessions and tell people what to do. I like it because you get an idea of what he wants and you can learn from him.

“The process of analysing games is really good. It’s something I probably didn’t do enough at Everton. They gave me all the resources but personally I maybe didn’t look back at my games enough.”  

Sheffield United, one of Branthwaite’s many suitors, are currently flying high at the top of the Championship. The same cannot be said of Huddersfield, Cardiff or Middlesbrough. All three clubs are stuck in the bottom seven, with Chris Wilder following Danny Schofield and Steve Morison out the door.