Jarrad Branthwaite still dreaming of United switch
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester United’s backline has been ravaged by injuries this season, and the situation has served as a timely reminder to INEOS about reinforcing that position in the summer.
First, it was Matthijs de Ligt, who suffered an injury in November. The club’s best performer in the first half of the campaign, the Dutchman, who was initially pencilled to return after a week, has ended up being sidelined for over five months.
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All indications point towards the Netherlands international missing the entire season.
Lisandro Martinez, who missed the first four months of the season with an ACL injury, returned and was just starting to hit form when he suffered a calf injury.
Injury crisis at the back
Again, the club believed he would only be missing in action for one game. The Argentine has ended up on the treatment table for five games now.
When on form, the pair are the club’s best defenders, but their injury record is far from impressive and it would be a mistake for the Red Devils to place their trust in the duo moving forward.
Harry Maguire agreeing a new short-term deal does negate the need for an immediate backup, but reporter Ben Jacobs has revealed that the 20-time English league champions do have their eyes on a Premier League-proven star.
Unless you have been living under a rock, it is well known that United’s co-owners are huge admirers of Everton ace Jarrad Branthwaite, and they attempted to sign him back in 2024.
Jarrad Branthwaite back on the radar
The Toffees’ unrealistic valuation led to the move eventually breaking down, but it seems both the centre-back and United have not given up hopes of a move.
As per Jacobs (via Sports Mole), the three-time Champions League winners met Jarrad Branthwaite and his camp as recently as February, and they were told the Englishman remains interested in a move.
The team from Merseyside remain calm about the whole situation as the 23-year-old has a contract at the Hill Dickinson Stadium until 2030.
“There was a meeting with the Branthwaite camp in February, it was reiterated from the player’s side that interest hasn’t gone away.
Jarrad Branthwaite has still not given up on the dream of moving to United
“Everton feel calm about the situation. Branthwaite has been focusing on himself, recovery and getting back on the pitch, any kind of exit hasn’t been a topic of conversation, because he is committed to Everton, as a consequence we will see whether it’s this summer or next.
”Part of the logic in Maguire staying is that Man United want to be more like Liverpool in the sense of finding that replacement before the actual replacement goes, so you may start to see in the market more overlap.”
Jarrad Branthwaite excels as a left-sided centre-back and with Maguire not exactly a spring chicken, and given Martinez and De Ligt’s injury woes, it would be a major coup if United were to pull off a deal for the Everton ace.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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