Manchester United are continuing their pursuit to sign England defender Jarrad Branthwaite this summer but have told Everton they will not be ‘held ransom’ by their valuation
Manchester United are attempting to offload Victor Lindelöf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as potential makeweights to land Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite in a transfer swap.
The Red Devils remain in the hunt for reinforcements in central defence, with the 21-year-old England defender earmarked as an ideal candidate to bolster the backline.
Everton maintain they don’t expect to lose the highly-rated defender for next season. However, the Toffees have conceded they’d be willingly to let him go for a “mega deal”. Branthwaite signed a new contract at Goodison Park last autumn which runs until 2027.
United’s opening bid of £35million plus add-ons was rejected by Everton, but Old Trafford chiefs remain fixated on the defender and are hoping to test the resolve of the Merseyside club.
Even so, those at United refuse to be “held to ransom”, with new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe making clear that the days of extravagant transfer spending are over.
One method of potentially peeling Branthwaite away from Everton is to reportedly offer a swap deal that would include Lindelöf and Wan-Bissaka. United activated options in December to extend both defenders’ contracts until the summer of 2025.
But according to the ECHO, United’s hopes of a transfer swap deal for the pair are largely in vain. Everton top brass insist they will not be bullied into selling Branthwaite on the cheap, while also shutting down claims of a PSR-inspired ‘ fire sale’ at Goodison Park before June 30.
Further, Everton sight the lavish expenditures doled out for defenders over the years, including the £80million United forked out for Harry Maguire in 2019. Given the £75million Chelsea paid for Wesley Fofana in 2022 and the £77million Manchester City paid for Josko Gvardiol in 2023, Everton file Branthwaite in the same cache of defender, particularly given he is homegrown and ability to play on the left.
United’s defence is in desperate need of bolstering. United had fourteen different centre-back combinations last season, a defensive crisis exacerbated by a raft of injuries across the term.
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