Man Utd have continued to look for options in the transfer market to bolster the squad ahead of the new season. Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro have been signed by the club this summer and it is safe to assume that Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui can also be assumed as signed despite the official announcement yet to come.
One player they have been linked with throughout this transfer window is Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton. We covered a story around four days ago revealing that Man Utd were finally ready to bid for the 22-year-old Evertonian.
Despite having signed Yoro and wrapping up a deal for De Ligt, it looks like Erik ten Hag wants one more central defender in the team.
This could be down to the fact that many of his centre-backs including Yoro have been injury-prone.
As per Football Insider, Man Utd are ready to submit a bid for around £60m which is said to include add-ons for Jarrad Brathwaite.
The report adds that the Red Devils are confident of this bid being accepted, despite Everton valuing the one-cap English defender at £80m. It must be noted that two prior bids of Man Utd were rejected by the Toffees.
If this is indeed true and Man Utd manage to sign him this summer, this would result in an overbooking of centre-backs in the squad.
Having Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Branthwaite for one position does not make sense.
This could in turn make the Red Devils find new clubs for at least two of the first three players on that list. It is unlikely to be Evans considering he just extended his deal which would leave Lindelof and Maguire in limbo.
That said, Man Utd would be signing one of the most promising young defenders in the Premier League if they sign Branthwaite. Only time will tell us if this deal goes through and he comes a Red Devil this summer.
Leave a Reply