Blackburn complete loan deal for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite amid their injury crisis in defence

Everton have loaned defender Jarrad Branthwaite to Blackburn Rovers. 

The 18-year-old will spend the remainder of the season with the Championship outfit, who needed cover amid an injury crisis at the back.

Blackburn are currently without Daniel Ayala, Derrick Williams and Scott Wharton, who are all long-term absentees, while midfielder Bradley Johnson has had to fill in in defence in recent weeks.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray said he was delighted with Branthwaite’s capture and he will add a physical presence to their squad as they push for a play-off place this season.

‘He was somebody we were aware of when he was at Carlisle and he’s someone who I’ve watched and who I like,’ Mowbray revealed to iFollow Rovers.

‘We’re three centre halves down with Wharton, Williams and Ayala all unavailable and it’s an area where we need to balance off.

‘It’s not really fair on the team to expect Bradley Johnson to slot into the left centre half spot and for him to know the role inside-out.

‘It’s been the first time he’s ever played there, so centre back was a position we were in the market for.

‘Jarrad is a young boy who I really like and saw play against our Under-23s recently as well.’

Branthwaite could be followed out the doors by more players at Everton with Sporting Director Marcel Brands admitting the club will use the January window to trim their squad down rather than look to add to it.

He said on Thursday: ‘We are still working to offload some players for new challenges in their careers. We don’t expect to sign new players in this window.

‘In the current squad we have a good balance of experienced players, young players, and also players with homegrown status.

‘The average age squad age is just above 26 years old. This is a big difference with the squad of two seasons ago where the average age was a lot higher.’