Man Utd ‘frustrations’ to ‘open door’ for rivals with £75m star given ‘strong chance’ of leaving

According to reports, Manchester United target Jarrad Branthwaite has a ‘strong chance’ of leaving Premier League rivals Everton in January or next summer.

Branthwaite was one of the breakout stars in the Premier League last season as he shone for boyhood club Everton.

He struck up a brilliant partnership with James Tarkowski and was unfortunate to miss out on Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024.

At the start of this summer’s transfer window, Man Utd identified Branthwaite as their main target but turned to alternatives after refusing to meet Everton’s reported £75m asking price.

The Red Devils had several bids rejected for Branthwaite and it’s understood that their final offer was offer was worth around £50m.

Man Utd still signed two centre-backs in the summer, as around £100m was spent to sign Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt from Lille and Bayern Munich respectively.

Later in the window, Branthwaite was linked with other clubs but remained at Everton as none of the clubs interested in him met their lofty valuation.

READ: Five Manchester United fiascos that will see Erik ten Hag sacked on December 14

However, Everton may lose Branthwaite in January or next summer as GiveMeSport are reporting that he has a ‘strong chance’ of leaving in 2025.

It’s claimed that ‘there is a serious possibility of Branthwaite leaving Everton next summer as Real Madrid are keeping tabs on his situation, but they will have to meet his current employers’ demands if they want to strike a deal as his £75million price tag will not drop’.

‘GMS sources have been told that Manchester United’s frustrations in their pursuit of Branthwaite could open the door for Real Madrid to pounce within the next 12 months as the Spanish giants have shown interest and may put plans in place to open negotiations with Everton in the coming months.

‘Real Madrid are not solely focused on landing Branthwaite ahead of the 2025/26 campaign as Arsenal’s William Saliba and Benfica’s Antonio Silva have also been pinpointed as potential recruits, GMS sources understand, meaning it is not a certainty that Everton will be forced to contend with a formal offer.’

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Man Utd have lost two of their first three Premier League games this season, but Ally McCoist thinks they have been given a “massive” boost ahead of this weekend.

“Rasmus Højlund coming back from injury is going to be massive for Manchester United,” McCoist said.

“They look toothless going forwards at the moment – they play some nice football on occasion, but there’s no real cutting edge and they don’t have a proper goalscorer in the box to attack crosses and through balls. Even when they beat Fulham there appeared to be a lack of presence in the area.

“I thought Højlund had a good first season at the club considering he came in from a different league, but he has to step up again and bring the goals that United are crying out for.

“The first few games of the season have shown exactly what United are missing. It’ll be a big responsibility for him but we’ll see how everything plays out.”