Everton could capitalise on Man United’s mistake by signing £90k-a-week defender for half his value

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Everton’s summer has been a successful one thus far, both regarding those they have signed and those they have kept.

The latter never seemed likely though when Kevin Thelwell kickstarted the window with a warning to fans, which he instantly refuted by bringing in Jack Harrison, Tim Iroegbunam and Iliman Ndiaye.

And now with Everton set to sign Jake O’Brien just days after completing Jesper Lindstrom’s signing, it’s worth pondering just how much more they are willing to spend.

Fortunately, a great opportunity has just opened up in the market, which they could now prey on.

Everton could jump on Manchester United’s desperation

Manchester United have been pushing for Branthwaite all summer, with little success given Everton’s staunch stance on the matter.

Not willing to be bullied, even FFP did not force their hand, and thus far the 22-year-old remains at Goodison Park.

However, despite their underhanded tactics, it could now be the Red Devils who are forced to sell one of their players for a cut price, having agreed personal terms with Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui.

Unable to progress until they have offloaded some players though, Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg now noted that Erik ten Hag would accept offers of around £10-15m for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, way less than half of the £50m initially paid to bring him from Crystal Palace.

And with Everton having tried to sign the £90k-a-week defender before, perhaps now is the perfect time to spark back up their interest.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka would perfect Everton’s backline

With a dependable left-back in Vitaliy Mykolenko, and a rock-solid centre-back pairing in James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, all that’s missing to perfect Sean Dyche’s backline is a top-quality right-back.

However, frustratingly so, he is not short of options in that role.

After all, when he joined the Toffees already had Nathan Patterson primed for that position, having joined from Rangers under Rafael Benitez’s poisonous tenure.

Naturally though, Seamus Coleman was always bound to be the first pick when fit. The only issue was that he never was.

Then, going even deeper, and Ben Godfrey provided an ample alternative when needed, with Ashley Young later brought in to provide even more cover.

And yet, despite all of this talent, no one could really hold down the spot.

Wan-Bissaka might not be the most inspiring of options, but few can deny his defensive solidity, which would add to an already formidable side that conceded the fourth-least goals and kept the second-most clean sheets.

With Coleman too physically unreliable, Patterson too reckless and Young too old, the hope is that the Man United alternative might fit the bill and solve all of their issues.

Ironically, it is now Everton who would prey on their financial needs.