Everton are receiving interest from Manchester United in their star defender Jarrad Branthwaite ahead of the summer transfer window.
A nervy few weeks await Everton with 30 June being the deadline for PSR which will require the Toffees to sell some of their players to balance the books.
There could be a lot of change around Goodison Park in the coming months with Farhad Moshiri‘s exit from the club reportedly closing in.
Fresh reports over the weekend have suggested encouraging talks are underway with Andy Bell and George Downing ready to meet the demands required to acquire Moshiri’s majority stake.
For now, player sales are going to have to be concentrated on with a very real deadline at the end of the month needing to be met.
And one of the players who could potentially free up a lot of money is the young defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
What those at Manchester United are saying about Jarrad Branthwaite
Earlier this week, Everton News revealed that the club will not budge when it comes to Branthwaite this summer and will demand a record fee.
There are a number of clubs interested in him, but Manchester United are certainly one of them who are showing their interest.
Everton may well be forced to sell one of their big assets this month, but Graeme Bailey has told Everton News that the Toffees would prefer to sell Amadou Onana.
“They probably are looking at a sale and Amadou Onana is the one they’d be most likely to move on,” he said.
According to Liverpool Echo, those at Old Trafford are still expecting Everton to be forced into selling Branthwaite this summer.
And the United chiefs are in belief that a deal before the end of the month can be secured due to Everton’s struggles against PSR.
Branthwaite having failed to secure a spot in Gareth Southgate’s final England squad for this summer’s Euros, the Toffees are now prepared to battle to keep him on Merseyside.
With that being said, Everton may be forced into a sale if United were to put forward a record transfer fee for a defender over the coming weeks.
Why Gareth Southgate did not include Jarrad Branthwaite in England’s Euros squad
Manchester United’s current centre-back Harry Maguire missed out on the final cut due to injury which meant there were places up for grabs in Southgate’s side.
However, Branthwaite also missed out with the controversial decision to include Brighton & Hove Albion’s Lewis Dunk.
And the England manager has provided a questionable response when he was asked about the Everton defender’s omission from the squad.
“I think it is a bit early for Jarrad. He has had a fabulous season and it was good to get him on the other night,” he told the media earlier in the week.
“Of course, in an ideal world, you would like lots of left-footers. But, to put him ahead of the others, I don’t think that would have been the right call at this stage.
“That is why we have taken what I think is a risk at left-back with Luke [Shaw], but I think that is a risk worth taking.”
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