Man United’s main transfer target has told them exactly what they wanted to hear

With less than a week to go until the transfer window opens, reports linking Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite with a move to Manchester United are gathering pace.

United, as reported by the Manchester Evening News in April, are planning to bring in two centre-backs this summer. The club has already confirmed that Raphael Varane will leave when his contract expires at the end of this month and there is an expectation that one of Victor Lindelof or Harry Maguire will be sold.

Uncertainty also surrounds Jonny Evans’ future at Old Trafford. He has been offered a new deal and talks between him and the club remain ongoing.

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Injury issues were a constant theme in United’s centre-back department during the 2023/24 campaign, meaning they need to add fresh legs to that area of the squad this summer. Branthwaite is a leading target.

If drafted in from Everton this summer, there is a general expectation that he will act as Varane’s successor in United’s first-choice line-up and join forces with Lisandro Martinez in the heart of the back four. United arguably missed the latter more than anyone in the most recent campaign.

His presence in the left-sided centre-back berth was sorely missed, with his ball-playing capabilities key to United’s style of play under Erik ten Hag. United signed the Argentine in July 2022 to add a left-footed presence to their centre-back options.

In Branthwaite, however, United could be about to add another. The 21-year-old, despite conflicting reports, is also left-footed, meaning the Reds could deploy a centre-back partnership of two left-footed players next term, with Branthwaite starting on Martinez’s right.

However, the former Blackburn Rovers loanee is equally comfortable on either foot, explaining last year that he varies which foot he uses depending on the type of pass he intends to play.

Speaking to Everton’s club website in October, he said: “I am left-footed, but I’ve got a five-star weak foot on the new FIFA. If I’m hitting a long pass, I’ll go with my left; short passes with my right.”

As a result of his confidence to play with either foot, Branthwaite is capable of playing on the right of a centre-back pairing. He earned the bulk of his minutes for Everton during the most recent campaign on the left side because his partner, James Tarkowski, naturally plays on the right.

Nevertheless, he is capable of switching it up, meaning he would tick plenty of boxes for the Reds. Ten Hag, should he remain in charge, wants to transform United into a possession-based team, meaning the importance of having two ball-playing centre-backs cannot be understated.

Branthwaite is a smooth operator in possession and his capabilities on either foot would support United’s ambitions of being able to play through the thirds, starting by playing out from the back. For example, Branthwaite attempted 1,371 passes in 35 Premier League appearances in 2023/24, successfully completing 1,098 of them, giving him a pass completion rate of 80.09 per cent.

He is an accomplished ball-player and will only get better at the age of 21. What’s more, the fact he is left-footed means he would be able to slide across and cover for Martinez if he was unavailable, meaning the Reds would not lose a left-footed presence in the heart of the backline.