Manchester United are reportedly battling with Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea over a deal to sign Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
After being impressed by the Englishman’s displays at Goodison Park, the Red Devils made a formal approach to secure his services last summer. However, the Toffees refused to let him leave; eventually, United decided to reinforce the backline by signing Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt.
Following that, Ruben Amorim’s side didn’t look to sign a new centre-back in the recently concluded summer window. However, with Lisandro Martínez struggling with fitness issues and Luke Shaw displaying inconsistent performances after recovering from his injury problems, Man Utd are planning to sign a new left-sided centre-back.
Fichajes state that Man Utd remain keen on signing Branthwaite and could make a concrete approach again to buy him. Apart from the Old Trafford club, Tottenham and Chelsea are also plotting a swoop for him.
However, Everton have no intention of letting him leave anytime soon, so Man Utd, Spurs, or Chelsea will have to launch a lucrative proposal to persuade the Toffees to let him leave.
The 23-year-old is valued at around £43m by Transfermarkt and still has five years left in his current contract, having recently signed an extension.
Battle
Micky Van de Ven is the only left-footed centre-back option Spurs currently have, but he struggled with fitness problems over the last two seasons.
On the other hand, Levi Colwill has established himself as an undisputed starter in Enzo Maresca’s starting XI for Chelsea, but he has sustained a serious knee injury.
As a result, he is set to remain sidelined for an extended period. Therefore, Chelsea and Tottenham have started exploring options to strengthen the defensive department.
Branthwaite is a 6ft 5in tall centre-back and has showcased his qualities in the Premier League in recent years. He is very quick, strong, and good in the air. So, he possesses the necessary physical attributes to become a world-class defender in the future.
However, he has had injury problems in recent seasons and has missed the first four league games due to an injury. Therefore, Man Utd, Chelsea, and Tottenham will have to be careful about that before making any potential swoop for him.