Manchester United will look to make a savvy signing in the upcoming transfer window, by taking a Premier League side's standout player from this term.
While hopes of securing Champions League football are pretty much over, Manchester United have started preparing for next season by identifying targets before the transfer window has even opened.
In what will be Sir Jim Ratcliffe's first market at the club as a minority shareholder, plans are in place to take advantage of other teams' difficulties, too, by stealing top players from around the top flight.
According to a report from Football Insider, Manchester United are confident an offer of £60-£70m will be enough to tempt Everton into selling star defender Jarrad Branthwaite in the summer, with the Red Devils set to test their resolve before June 30.
That date is the cut-off point for clubs to include player sales in their accounts for the 2023/24 season, meaning Everton will avoid any future points deductions or sanctions from the Premier League by letting Branthwaite leave.
But while the 21-year-old has been a standout player at the heart of the Everton defence this season, leading to him earning his first England call-up, the potential deal is reportedly less than what the Toffees value him at.
Everton have fallen foul of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSRs) for the last two seasons, and would comfortably mitigate any similar scenarios in the future by letting Branthwaite leave.
The report also suggests that Branthwaite is Manchester United's "top target" this summer, as they look to shore up their defence following some leaky displays this term. The left-footed defender will help with that, though he'd likely have to compete with Lisandro Martinez at centre-back.
Transfermarkt values Branthwaite at just £25m, but with three years still remaining on his current contract, and the fact he is still 21, it'll obviously take more than double that valuation for Manchester United to take him to Old Trafford.
In FourFourTwo's view, this is a deal that certainly could happen, especially considering Everton's financial difficulties in recent times, though it would make more sense for the Red Devils to focus on a right-sided centre-back. Martinez would clearly be first choice when fully fit, meaning more than £60m on a back-up option is a hefty fee.
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