Man Utd to offer Everton £190,000 p/w star plus cash for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s top summer target
Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite is a top target for Man Utd
Manchester United are reportedly preparing a player-plus-cash offer for Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite, who’s one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s top targets.
The Red Devil’s co-owner has made signing a new centre-back his top priority for the summer as he aims to build a squad that can dominate in the future.
Branthwaite is considered to be one of the best young players in Europe. He has made 33 Premier League appearances this season and is a key reason why Everton has the fourth-best defensive record in the division.
The 21-year-old’s superb form earned him his first call-up to the England first-team in March and he could be in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the European Championships.
As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk, Everton will demand a minimum of £75m for Branthwaite and at this stage it’s unclear whether Man Utd would be willing to pay that much.
The Toffees will have to make at least one big sale before submitting their accounts for this season on June 30th to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, however.
Man Utd are therefore keen to get a deal done for Branthwaite and believe they can do so shortly after the end of the season.
Man Utd prepare player-plus-cash offer for Everton star
According to the Daily Star, Man Utd could be willing to use Harry Maguire in a deal to sign Branthwaite in order to drive down his price tag.
Everton would have to bring in a replacement for the youngster should they lose him and therefore they may consider this option if the Red Devils put offer a sizeable sum of cash as well as their former captain.
The Toffees were linked with a move for Maguire last summer and made enquiries about signing him on loan, but Man Utd weren’t willing to agree to that at the time.
The clear obstacle to the deal, however, is that Maguire currently earns £190,000 per week at Old Trafford, which is far too expensive for Everton.
The defender would have to agree to take a big pay cut for the swap deal to go through, and with his Man Utd contract valid until 2025, that seems unlikely.
Man Utd may, therefore, agree to pay a portion of Maguire’s wages for one season as part of the deal – but he would still have to agree to join Everton.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how this story progresses in the coming weeks. As mentioned, Branthwaite’s future could be decided before the end of next month.
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