Manchester United remain interested in Jarrad Branthwaite long-term after having two bids swiftly rebuffed by Everton at the beginning of the transfer window.
Indeed, the Reds’ two proposals, the second worth £50 million, were laughed off by Everton, who value their stalwart centre-half in the region of £70m.
Such a price was out of the question for United this summer, as they had numerous positions to bolster on a fairly limited budget – especially due to their lack of outgoings.
United retain long-term interest in Branthwaite
Yet, Mail Sport states that INEOS chiefs have ‘not given up hope’ of sanctioning the 22-year-old’s arrival at Old Trafford, and they ‘could revisit the deal’ over the next year, provided he doesn’t complete a move anywhere else in that time.
Mail’s report adds: “Manchester City are known to be admirers, and some interesting betting patterns over the weekend had Branthwaite at 2/1 to make a surprise switch to Liverpool, who could be in the market for a new centre-back before the summer transfer deadline.”
Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt were pursued as Branthwaite alternatives to reinforce Erik ten Hag’s backline after last season saw it decimated by injuries. The pair, arriving from Lille and Bayern Munich respectively, cost a combined £101.7m.