James Tarkowski is hopeful that Jarrad Branthwaite will stay at Everton.
Branthwaite was the subject of several approaches from Manchester United earlier this summer as they sought to test the resolve of Sean Dyche’s side.
But successive bids from Old Trafford were rebuffed by the Blues for the newly capped England international, who is under contract until June 2027.
Amid ongoing speculation over his long-term future, Tarkowski admits that he would relish extending his defensive partnership with Branthwaite this season.
He said: “I’m not privy to all of the conversations going on about Jarrad.
“I spent a season playing with him and he was outstanding. He is still young and he’s still going to improve, but we all know the qualities he’s got as a player.
“Personally, I hope he stays here and I get to spend some time with him on the pitch again this year. I know he is dealing with a couple of [fitness] issues right now.
“But hopefully he will be back involved with the lads soon and back on the pitch because he was such an important player last year.”
In Branthwaite’s absence, Tarkowski lined up alongside summer signing Jake O’Brien for Everton’s final pre-season friendly against Roma on Saturday.
And the veteran centre-back feels that there are parallels between the pair.
“Jarrad was quite similar last year,” admitted Tarkowski.
“To be honest. I’m still learning myself – about how to lead from behind and at the back and to play with different players.
“It is someone new to play with. But the structure of our team always remains the same.
“Some of it may be Jake here or Jake and Jarrad together, or anyone else. We all know the structure, the way we need to work, and Jake is learning that now.
“The more time he spends with us, the more he will learn.”
Heeding into Saturday’s Premier League opener with Brighton, Tarkowski believes Everton have an opportunity to progress after two difficult campaigns.
He added: “It is always about building blocks.
“The last couple of years have been tough. Last year could have been a positive one without all the stuff that went on off the field.
“I think we saw with what we did on the pitch last year that it was a decent year overall and we are looking to improve.
“Hopefully this year we can build on that.”