The 21-year-old made 41 appearances across all competitions and is currently being courted by a number of top clubs, most notably Manchester United. Branthwaite enjoyed an exceptional breakout season in the Premier League in 2023–24, thriving as part of a central defensive partnership with James Tarkowski for the Toffees.
However, after having an initial £40 million bid rejected for the player, Manchester United will not get drawn into a protracted saga over the signing of the player, Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has told GIVEMESPORT.
Despite the fact that the player is eager to join Old Trafford and that personal terms have reportedly been agreed upon, Sheth thinks United won’t engage in a protracted bidding battle and that INEOS is unlikely to accede to Everton’s £70 million asking price.
Sheth: United Won’t Wast Time on Exchange Bids
In order to find a long-term partner for Lisandro Martinez, Erik ten Hag will be keen to strengthen his defensive alternatives this summer, especially with Raphael Varane leaving and Victor Lindelof perhaps heading away. Branthwaite seems to be the club’s top priority, however Sheth has stated that INEOS is trying to learn from the mistakes made by the previous ownership in transfer negotiations and have more control over such transactions after their initial attempt failed.
“They won’t become entangled in protracted stories that last all summer. They will not say something like, “This is a bid, it’s rejected.” This is another bid, which is turned down. This is another bid, which is turned down. Since it has only caused delays in all of their previous transfer transactions, they are unwilling to adopt that way of thinking once more. One bid was turned down for them.
They have thus already made a bid of about £40 million, which I believe they were aware would be turned down by Everton. We know Everton is looking for around £70 million. Having said that, though, I don’t think they genuinely want to let go of Jarrad Branthwaite, who is one of the team’s key players.
It’s unclear how steadfast the United management will be in this strategy, but it will cheer supporters to know that the English giants’ past involvement in laborious and expensive sagas, like as those involving Harry Maguire and Antony, are trying to teach us something.
Though it’s likely that Everton’s high demands for the transfer money may prevent a deal from happening this summer, it’s also possible that United will make another attempt to get Branthwaite, who had made England’s provisional Euros team.
