Manchester United make initial £45m offer for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite
Manchester United has put forward a first proposal to Everton to acquire Jarrad Branthwaite. The offer would amount to £45m with the inclusion of add-ons. This offer marks the start of Manchester United's transfer activity for the summer season.
The man in charge of Manchester United's football strategy, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has given the green light to an offer of £35m with an additional £10m potential earnings based on certain conditions being met. However, it's believed that Everton will refuse this bid as they actually regard their 21-year-old centre-back to be worth between £60m-70m.
Despite Everton encountering financial difficulties, manager Sean Dyche has acknowledged that they may have to entertain transfer offers for some of their players. Their most valuable asset at present is Branthwaite, though there's speculation that Everton's previous breach of profitability and sustainability regulations may not necessarily have an impact on the situation. This could potentially give the club better leverage when negotiating deals.
Despite facing another tough season, Everton's Branthwaite made a notable impression. He even garnered attention as part of the 33-player training group for the European Championship under the supervision of Gareth Southgate. However, he did not make it to the final 26-player squad in the end.
This week, Erik ten Hag managed to keep his position as the manager of United. During the previous season, he had to deal with using 15 different combinations in the central defence department because of Lisandro Martínez getting injured frequently. Branthwaite, who is a left-footed player, is regarded by Ten Hag as an improvement in that position and also brings in an additional option since Raphaël Varane left Old Trafford recently.
As Dan Ashworth is still on gardening leave and hasn't yet begun his role as United's sporting director, Jason Wilcox, the technical director, is in charge of the club's summer transactions.
