Manchester United fans will be hoping Saturday’s appearance at Old Trafford will be the first of many for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Branthwaite is on United’s summer shopping list and they feel he could have a bright future with them. The emergence of the centre-half has been one of the few positives for Everton from an otherwise testing season.
Despite being just 21, he has nailed down a place at centre-half alongside James Tarkowski, forcing Michael Keane to make do with a place on the bench. His progress has been rapid and after making his England Under-21 debut last summer, he’s knocking on the door of Gareth Southgate’s senior squad.
United will feel they can sign Branthwaite because of Everton’s precarious situation and the Blues have twice fallen foul of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules. They believe Everton will be unable to resist an enticing offer for Branthwaite when they are desperate for cash.
Picking up Branthwaite for just £1million in January 2020, when he was 17 and had just made a handful of appearances for his hometown club Carlisle, must rank as Everton’s deal of the decade. Carlisle are entitled to a cut of his sell-on fee, which is reportedly 10 per cent, and this would be a tidy windfall for the Cumbrian side.
But as good as Branthwaite is, is he what United need this summer to make them Premier League challengers? United desperately need freshening up at the heart of their defence and Jonny Evans is 36 and out of contract in the summer.
Harry Maguire has just turned 31, as is Raphael Varane, while Victor Lindelof is 30 in July. They badly need fresh blood, but with just one full season in the Premier League, Branthwaite may be too young to slot straight in.
Branthwaite would be perfect for United in three or four years when he would be in his mid-20s, but right now he may be too green to shoulder so much responsibility. United are far from being stable and they will only undergo more huge changes in the summer if Erik ten Hag does not meet their target of delivering Champions League football and is sacked.
New minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already spelled out what he wants and he does not want to go backwards as United’s rivals all race ahead. Branthwaite would be expected to take on a leading role if he joined in the summer and this may be asking too much of him at this relatively early stage of his career.
At Manchester City, Liverpool or Everton he would be protected until he was ready to step forward into the limelight. Ideally, United would sign a centre-half in his mid-20s with international and European club experience.
But that calibre of player can be counted on the fingers of one hand and perhaps explains their interest in Branthwaite.
Branthwaite could be one of the Premier Leagues top centre-halves in five or six years, but do United have that long as they attempt to close the gap at the top of the Premier League on their rivals?
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