Manchester United plan to use Harry Maguire as a makeweight in their deal to sign Everton hotshot Jarrad Branthwaite.
Branthwaite, 21, is a top target for the Red Devils ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window, with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe identifying the spine of United's team as an area to prioritise. The Everton centre-back fits the bill as a homegrown talent who's considered to have world-class potential.
The Toffees value Branthwaite at £70million but as reported by the Daily Star, Ratcliffe and co hope to significantly reduce their asking price by including Maguire in their proposal. The 31-year-old England international has gone from fifth-choice centre-back under Erik ten Hag to one of the Dutchman's most trusted players during an injury-hit season for United, especially in defence.
But given his age and the fact he's due to be out of contract in 2025, Maguire has been deemed surplus to requirements. The Red Devils aren't alone in the race to sign Branthwaite, however, with Tottenham and Real Madrid known admirers.
United are acutely aware that Everton need to sell quickly to avoid plunging themselves into further financial peril, having already suffered two separate points deductions this season for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules in recent years. Branthwaite is currently their most sellable asset, having received his first England call-up in March.
Transfer speculation has slowly been ramping up throughout the season but the former PSV Eindhoven loanee insists that he's solely focussed on Everton until the end of the campaign. "You have just got to block it all out," Branthwaite explained last month when quizzed on talk of a big-money move.
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"I think if you focus on the outside stuff, you get distracted from what you need to do on the pitch. For me now, until the end of the season, I am just focused on winning games for Everton Football Club."
Should United get their way, there's a high chance that Maguire wouldn't be the only central defender leaving Old Trafford this summer. Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans are both set to become free agents when their contracts expire in June, while Victor Lindelof will enter the final year of his deal. That'd leave injury-prone Lisandro Martinez as their only long-term centre-back option.
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