Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite on radar of Manchester City
Premier League champions Manchester City want to sign Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite to fill their homegrown quota, according to the Daily Mail.
The 19-year-old’s most recent start for the Toffees saw him shown a red card in the first half against Brentford but he returned to Frank Lampard’s side off the bench for the season finale away at Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola knows how important English players are as he tries to improve his squad in any way he can and thinks a homegrown central defender could be the answer.
Along with Branthwaite, the Citizens are closely monitoring Leicester City’s Ben Nelson while they might also bring back Taylor Harwood-Bellis after a string of loan moves.
This deal is still in the early stages with no contact made but Lampard would likely want to keep the teenager around and see him realise his potential in the near future.
Refuse
Unless City turn up to Goodison Park with £30million in cash, then any offer for Branthwaite surely has to be turned down.
Even at 19 years of age, he is performing at levels that any Premier League defender would be content with and he will only get better as the years go by.
He also has the advantage of being absolutely enormous which makes him a menace in both penalty areas whether it be attacking or defending in the air.
Few players are as dominant as he is aerially and to come up against him would be a huge challenge that we don’t need.
He also needs to realise that going to the Etihad would mean spending every single game without fail on the bench (at best) and if that is all he wants to do with his career, then he’s in the wrong sport and he should just pack it in and head back to Cumbria now.
In other Everton news, one of the Toffees has won a seasonal award in the Premier League and needs to be kept on Merseyside at all costs.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on Everton plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.