Everton: Manchester United want to pay £50m to sign Jarrad Branthwaite amid £100m update
Manchester United want to sign Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite for around £50m this summer, as they look to make £100m in player sales according to iNews.
Writing on their website (13 March), the news outlet report that the 21-year-old central defender is part of a plan for the Reds to add two centre-backs to their squad this summer with Juventus star Bremer also a target.
But INEOS will only look to spend around £50m on Branthwaite rather than the £75m Everton want, and they are keen to fund that by generating £100m on player sales.
“Everton are reportedly looking for at least £75m for Branthwaite – a 21-year-old tipped to be part of England’s squad for this summer’s European Championship – but United are aiming more for the £50m mark, given his relative inexperience at the highest level,” they wrote.
“Signing both has not been ruled out by insiders, especially if Ineos go ahead with their plan to clear the decks when they get to grips with an underperforming United squad.
“The club are looking to generate upwards of £100m in player sales.”
Everton can’t afford to sell Branthwaite for £50m
With how good Branthwaite is already at 21-years-old, Manchester United would be getting an absolute bargain if they managed to just pay £50m for him.
Considering that is what Manchester City paid for John Stones almost a decade ago, with the way the market has gone since then it’s clear Branthwaite should be worth more.
The financial situation at Goodison Park currently means that a big fee is needed to help the club out, but also they need to find a way to keep the squad together as best they can to stay competitive.
Selling Branthwaite would see one of the team’s best players leave, but £50m would likely mean that even more players would need to leave too and that would make things incredibly difficult for Sean Dyche in the summer.
If they want to raise £100m to bring in defenders, then they better find another option for the second player because Branthwaite will surely cost the vast majority of that budget.
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