Manchester United have seen a bid for Jarrad Branthwaite rejected – and they are unlikely to return with an improved offer unless Everton lower their demands for the defender
Manchester United have told Everton they are unable to pay £70million for any individual player this summer after holding talks over a deal for Jarrad Branthwaite.
The Red Devils remain keen on signing the highly-rated defender, who narrowly missed out on a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad earlier this month. But the Toffees are reluctant to entertain a sale following the 21-year-old’s impressive breakthrough season.
United have already seen an opening bid worth around £43m, including achievable add-ons, rebuffed by their Premier League rivals, who value Branthwaite at £70m. However, United’s limited transfer budget means they are unable to meet such demands.
A new report from ESPN has now shed more light on the situation, outlining that United have told Everton they do not have the funds to spend such a sum on any one player in this transfer window.
And while previous reports have indicated United were set to return to the table with an improved bid for Branthwaite, it’s now been claimed that they are in no rush to do so – unless Everton imply they are willing to negotiate.
It’s understood United have already warned Everton that they will move on to other targets if they do not reduce their asking price for Branthwaite, who made 35 Premier League appearances last season.
As well as signing a central defender, Manchester United want to sign a new forward to ease the goalscoring burden on Rasmus Hojlund and a defensive midfielder.
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United have a transfer budget of just £50m and know they will have to raise additional funds through player trading to get their desired business done. Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho are two players who have attracted interest and would command significant fees, while previous reports have indicated that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos would consider serious offers for all but a handful of the club’s players.
The British billionaire, who purchased a 27.7 per cent stake in United last season, has stressed that the club’s top brass will need more than the summer transfer window to solve the problems at Old Trafford after United finish eighth in the Premier League last term.
“I’m not confident that we’ll solve all the problems in the first transfer window,” Ratcliffe explained in an interview with Bloomberg this week. “It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place.”
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