Sunday, December 22, 2024

Jim Ratcliffe warned of Man Utd transfer ‘insanity’ as £48m mistake confirmed

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Manchester United have installed Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite as their main target for the summer transfer window but the Toffees are demanding an eye-watering amount for his signature

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to oversee his first transfer window at Man United(Getty Images)

Manchester United have been warned it would be “insanity” to pay £70m for Jarrad Branthwaite.

United have made the Everton centre half their No1 defensive transfer target this summer and made an opening offer of around £34m plus add-ons. However, Everton value England prospect Branthwaite in the £70m class and, despite their financial issues, are refusing to sell him on the cheap.




But now Branthwaite’s transfer value has been put at a staggeringly low £22m by a team of football experts who analyse players and their worth. ETV (Estimated Transfer Value) is a market-leading transfer valuation algorithm designed and developed over five years by Dutch data company SciSports. ‌

And their verdict on Branthwaite says the 21-year-old centre-half is currently massively overpriced. Their verdict says: “Value has increased significantly in the last 12 months (he was valued at 5.3m Euro/£4.5m as recently as October 2023), as he has stepped up in level from playing in the Eredivisie to regular Premier League football.

‌“He also signed a long-term contract in October 2023 which factors into his ETV. But based on the body of work so far (less than 50 Premier League appearances), talk of Everton wanting £80m is insanity. Absolutely it seems like that Man Utd tax/young English player tax, is in play again.”

United paid £85m for Harry Maguire and yet his transfer has been mixed but they are still ready to go big again for Branthwaite and are expected to bid again.

ETV have valued more than 240,000 players in over 250 leagues worldwide and the algorithm is already in use at 30 top European clubs, taking into account performance, age and contract length.

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