Manchester United’s line-up for their Premier League season opener against Fulham could look quite different to the one that started the final match of last term.
It had been widely reported that manager Erik ten Hag would be sacked by those in charge of the Red Devils after guiding his side to an eighth-placed finish, but victory over fierce rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final appears to have prompted a change of heart.
The Dutchman will likely be keen to bolster his squad during the current transfer window, and United have been linked with several defenders in recent weeks.
One of the players most often linked with a move to Old Trafford has been Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, but Football Insider claims that the Manchester outfit are unwilling to meet his price tag and are instead looking elsewhere.
United are one of a number of top clubs to have shown interest in the Englishman, but the report claims that the club are unwilling to meet the Toffees’ £70 million valuation of the defender.
Branthwaite could leave Everton this summer
Those in charge of the Red Devils’ recruitment are therefore assessing other potential targets, including Bayern Munich’s Matthijs De Ligt.
Branthwaite joined Everton from Carlisle United in 2020 and has since played 54 times for the Merseyside club.
He has also spent time on loan at both Blackburn Rovers and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, but he returned to Goodison Park last summer and played an integral role for Sean Dyche’s side last season.
Branthwaite was handed his senior England debut back in June and was included in Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man squad for the European Championships, before being cut from the final list.
Veteran centre-back Raphael Varane has departed United since the end of last season, and the report claims that the club are therefore keen to add two new central defenders to Ten Hag’s squad.