Manchester United now want to sign Everton centre-half Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.
The 21-year-old defender returned to Goodison Park after a successful loan spell at Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, where Branthwaite picked up the KNVB Cup.
Indeed, the Carlisle-born defender has been tipped for a breakthrough year at Everton this season, especially following the departures of Yerry Mina and Conor Coady earlier this summer.
However, according to the Daily Mail, Branthwaite has become a ‘surprise’ target for Manchester United with Erik ten Hag eager to strengthen his defence.
The young defender has been tipped for big things since his teenage years, with his former Carlisle United manager Steven Pressley calling him a ‘terrific footballer’ who can ‘be an England player’.
Speaking with the Everton website, Pressley said: “Not once from when I gave him his debut did I ever consider leaving him out again, because I felt his performances had been so strong.
The truth is, I think he has got everything. He can pass the ball almost equally as good with both feet. He’s a terrific footballer.
And If he continues to develop, then, without doubt, he can be an England player.”
Everton have a bad habit of selling our most prodigious talents to Manchester United, with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku swapping Goodison Park for Old Trafford over the years.
The Toffees can ill-afford to keep selling the best and brightest at the club if we are ever to progress, though the club could see Branthwaite as a chance to recover from the financial hangover it has been suffering for the past few years.
No doubt Jarrad Branthwaite can have a big future if he continues to develop, but whether it will be at Goodison Park remains to be seen.
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