£1m Everton call was one of the best decisions Carlisle United ever made: View | OneFootball

Carlisle United have had some top talents in their youth ranks throughout the years, but the sale of one academy graduate to Everton proved to be a brilliant deal for the club, and for the Toffees too.

2020 wasn't a good year for anybody. Everybody was forced to stay in their homes for months on end because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and many people struggled to get by, both mentally and financially.

It's the latter of those two where football teams were most hit. The leagues were either postponed or cancelled, depending on what level you played at, and this led to some serious trouble for some.

Many members of staff at clubs across the country were furloughed, and the lack of money that was being brought in due to games not being played hurt lots of teams. Even when football returned, fans didn't due to the restrictions at the time.

When fans did eventually return, it wasn't at full capacity. Supporters being back in grounds was good news for clubs, but it is odd to look back on how things were then, and what we as fans, and clubs, had to go through.

There were some teams, though, who had some extra cash reserves to help get them through these tough periods, and Carlisle were one of those teams.

United weren't some side with rich owners who could cover the losses that they were going to endure, but the sale of a 17-year-old defender named Jarrad Branthwaite to Everton, just before the beginning of the pandemic, massively helped the Blues to get through the struggles that were felt during the times of Covid, and the club are still reaping the benefits of that deal to this day.

Everton's deal to buy Jarrad Branthwaite

The blue side of Merseyside welcomed another bright prospect into its arms in the January transfer window of 2020. Branthwaite had only made his professional debut months prior, but Everton were still willing to pay a reported £1 million fee for the teenager, according to the Daily Mail.

The national outlet added that Carlisle had rejected a previous bid of £500,000 for the defender, prior to the deal being agreed.

He had 11 senior appearances in League Two for a struggling United side before making his move to Goodison Park, but those who attended Brunton Park could see the talent that he had.

His first position in football wasn't as a central defender. He was a centre-mid during his time in the Carlisle youth development set-up, before making the career-altering switch to being a marauder at the back. But this initial training in the middle of the park had served him well.

He always looked very calm and assured, both when on and off the ball. These qualities aren't common in a 17-year-old who had only just made his debut as a senior pro, but they were present in him.

He also showed some glimpses of the physical attributes that he would go on to fully display once he made his emergence into the Everton first team.

Even with the signs that he was showing in League Two, these potshots on youngsters don't always go well for Premier League clubs. They're gambles that rarely come off. In the case of Branthwaite, it was one that they were willing to take.

Carlisle asked Everton 'Red or black, sir?' They said 'I'll actually have green please.' And, even with those slim odds that their bet carried, their ball landed in that little green sliver of the football poker table.

The Toffees have been hugely improved by his presence at the back this season, and, if reports are to be believed, they are hoping to get upwards of £80 million from any sale of the young defender in the summer, with interest coming from the likes of Manchester United, as per TEAMtalk.

With all of their financial issues, the Toffees will have a big sigh of relief if a deal of that magnitude gets done. Even though he'd be gone, the 21-year-old would inadvertently make Evertonians sleep a bit easier because of the better financial state the club would find itself in, and that's the exact effect that he had on Carlisle's higher-ups just a few months on from his departure.

Carlisle's sale of Jarrad Branthwaite was one of the best they have ever made

Had Steven Pressley not given the teenager, at the time, his debut, against Plymouth Argyle, then Carlisle could have been in real fiscal trouble when Covid hit the EFL hard.

£1 million for any club in League Two is massive, but the timing of it made it even more crucial for the club. Because they had received that extra, unexpected wad of money from Everton, it made their lives much easier during a period of turmoil for all.

Not only did Branthwaite leaving help them get through the financial troubles that many clubs faced during the pandemic, but the deal that they struck out with Everton is still providing for United.

The club's chief executive, Nigel Clibbens, recently said that Carlisle could make a: "significant amount of money," from the sell-on fee that was inserted into the deal in January 2020, if reports of the fee that Everton want for him are true.

United's annual financial report, from the 2022/23 season, also revealed that the Blues will have received over £1 million from add-ons this season, which will be partially made up by performance-based bonuses that Everton will have had to pay to Carlisle.

Selling the defender set them up to be sustainable through a tough financial time, and, even with the new owners, that same deal looks like it will provide a big boost to the club's wallet soon enough.