2
Manchester City have reportedly entered the race to sign the supremely talented Jarrad Branthwaite.
The English defender has enjoyed a breakthrough season for Everton, playing 31 times to date and has been a cornerstone of the Toffees’ defence.
The 21 year old was recently awarded for his fine form by being called up to the England senior squad for the first time this month and will aim to make his debut against Belgium tomorrow night.
Branthwaite has been described by teammate and England goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, as a “Rolls-Royce” this season.
Naturally, numerous top clubs around Europe such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have been credited with an interest in the defender.
United have been regularly linked with the Everton centre back and it has been reported that they lead the race for him.
However, as usual, things are never so simple when it comes to transfers and another major threat has appeared on the horizon to United’s hopes of landing the centre back.
The Daily Mail report that “Manchester City are monitoring developments” with the Everton centre back.
They add that “the Premier League champions are not short of top class centre backs underlined by the fact £77million summer signing Josko Gvardiol has still to establish himself as a regular”.
“However, in their intent to keep competition high they are keeping an eye on Branthwaite’s progress, particularly with him being homegrown, his age, and showing technical traits similar to John Stones who has been deployed in midfield this season”.
The Mail does state however that United have been “leading the push” so far and that the player “fits the bill” to what they are looking for, in regard to lowering the overall age of the team.
It must also be stated that the Red Devils have shaken off the threat of their neighbours numerous times before, with Fred, Harry Maguire and Alexis Sanchez all being signed in the context of heavy interest from City as well as the Old Trafford side.
A potential advantage the Red Devils could possess over City is that with Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire’s future all up in the air, there seems to exist a much clearer path to first team opportunities for the defender, which will surely be a major consideration in the young man’s decision.
If INEOS and United are serious about recruiting Branthwaite for next season, they may just need to outmanoeuvre their rivals once again.
Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
