(Credit: Imago)

Oliver Walton

Thu 14 August 2025 10:39, UK

Everton could soon turn to Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey to solve their defensive issues after another centre-back injury was confirmed ahead of the new campaign.

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The Toffees’ summer business has started to kick into gear as the 2025/26 season approaches and clubs are more open to letting some of their fringe players depart.

This is the first transfer window with The Friedkin Group at the helm for Everton, and they have been busy in recent weeks with the likes of Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall joining Charly Alcaraz, Adam Aznou and Thierno Barry through the Hill Dickinson Stadium door.

Moyes will likely not be done yet with signings, after former club chief Keith Wyness recently told Football Insider that the Toffees could bring in as many as five new players in the coming weeks, and he needs to bolster his backline as soon as possible following a new injury scare.

Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media

The Toffees have moved to extend Michael Keane’s contract this summer, leaving him, Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Jake O’Brien as Moyes’ current senior centre-back options.

Keane is now 32-years-old and rarely featured from the off in league games last term, though, while Tarkowski has only recently recovered from a serious hamstring injury and O’Brien has been Everton’s first-choice right-back since Moyes was appointed.

According to a new report from The Daily Mail (13 August), Branthwaite is the latest Toffees centre-back to suffer a bad injury, with a hamstring problem set to rule him out until the end of September after he aggravated an existing issue in training.

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That is surely set to leave Moyes needing to shift O’Brien back into the centre alongside Tarkowski, but then his only options at right-back are an unfavoured Nathan Patterson and the aging Seamus Coleman, and so Lamptey could be a realistic, quality option to sign to fill that gap.

Everton have been linked with a £25million move for Lamptey already this summer, with his future currently unclear at Brighton after he made just 10 league starts last term.

The Ghanaian international does still have one year left on his Seagulls contract, but would surely be open to a move to Merseyside amid tough competition for places under Fabian Hurzeler from the likes of Jack Hinshelwood and Joel Veltman.

He would represent a quality, experienced addition to Moyes’ ranks if he were to join Everton this summer, and would also add a different dimension to his right-back options for the long-term as he is much more attack-minded than O’Brien.

(Credit: Imago)

Everton have shown signs of improvements since Moyes’ second appointment in January, and they have needed a strong summer transfer window to build on that and continue their march back up the table into this season.

Being able to retain Branthwaite’s services has understandably been a priority, given his age, talent and potential to improve even further in the next few years.

AppearancesGoalsAssists8642Branthwaite’s Everton career statistics

He is an England international who has proven himself as one of the best young centre-backs in the game in recent times, and despite interest in Branthwaite from Chelsea and Tottenham, the Toffees were able to tie him down to a new deal last month.

This latest injury will serve as a huge blow for Moyes and his squad as the new season draws ever nearer, but making more signings like Lamptey would mean the impact of his absence would not be as obvious in the early stages of the campaign.

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