Manchester United are in battle with Real Madrid to sign Everton’s centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite next summer, according to Fichajes.
The England international was the subject of persistent interest from the Red Devils last summer, with the club seeing several bids for the youngster turned down. With the Toffees holding on to a higher valuation, United opted for other alternatives and completed swoops for Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt to reinforce their centre-back position.
However, despite those additions, United are still interested in Branthwaite as Fichajes reports that sporting director Dan Ashworth is ‘determined’ to sign the Everton star next year.
The report also adds that the 22-year-old is one of United’s top targets for next summer and the Red Devils will make another attempt to land him at the end of the season.
However, the 13-time Premier League champions face stern competition from Laliga giants Real Madrid — who have also indicated an interest in signing the Carlisle-born centre-back to the Spanish capital, according to the report.
While Ashworth is pushing to secure Branthwaite’s signature for United, Madrid, on the other hand, have identified the youngster as a long-term replacement for the club’s veteran centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba, and could present him with a more enticing project at the Bernabéu, per the report.
Branthwaite to United
Branthwaite still has three years remaining on his contract at Goodison Park and is valued at €42m (£34m) by Transfermarkt, but Everton will no doubt demand a lot more for his signature.
Despite some underwhelming performances and results, Erik ten Hag’s side have kept three clean sheets and conceded only five goals in the Premier League this season. This is a stark contrast to last season, where they conceded ten goals and kept only one clean sheet in their first five matches.
The inclusion of Matthijs de Ligt in the backline has given the team solid defensive compatibility and a resolute partnership with Lisandro Martinez.
The addition of Branthwaite would provide the team with even more depth as required of any title-challenging team, but it remains to be seen whether he’d be willing to act as a squad player at Old Trafford with Martinez, Yoro, de Ligt and Harry Maguire already on the books.
With Ashworth leading the chase for the youngster, it is believed the administrative guru has a well-carved-out plan on how to fit in the defender in an already over-bloated position.
