Man Utd reignite Jarrad Branthwaite hunt as third bid prepared; Ten Hag makes double transfer decision

Manchester United have drawn up a third, improved bid for Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite, with a report revealing the exact money involved, while Erik ten Hag has made a decision on the futures of two exciting young players.

Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a huge fan of Branthwaite, viewing him as one of the best English talents in the Premier League. Ratcliffe has resultantly spearheaded Man Utd’s pursuit of the centre-back this summer.

Everton are aware of Ratcliffe and Man Utd’s hopes of landing Branthwaite and have responded by setting his price tag at the £70million mark.

Man Utd, though, feel this huge sum is unreasonable and do not intend to match it. Instead, Man Utd started the bidding at just £35million plus add-ons, an offer which was immediately knocked back by Everton as they viewed it as derisory.

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Ratcliffe then returned with a second package which included an initial £45m fee and a further £5m in bonuses, which was also rejected.

Man Utd soon turned their attention to alternative centre-backs Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt. Yoro has already been confirmed as a Man Utd player, while De Ligt has completed a medical ahead of reuniting with his former Ajax boss Ten Hag.

It was thought that Man Utd would sign Yoro and De Ligt instead of Branthwaite, but Ratcliffe could actually end up landing all three.

According to Football Insider, Man Utd are ready to go back on the hunt for the England international and will launch an improved bid worth £60m.

Man Utd transfers: Jarrad Branthwaite pursuit bursts back into life

While that still does not meet Everton’s asking price, Man Utd hope that it will convince the Toffees to cash in. After all, Branthwaite is understood to be keen on a switch to Old Trafford and Sean Dyche will not want an unhappy player in his squad.

Plus, uncertainty surrounding the takeover situation might force Everton to accept a lower sum for Branthwaite than they were previously holding out for, though this will only happen late on in the transfer window.

Everton have drawn up a bumper new contract offer for the 22-year-old, but he is unlikely to agree fresh terms as he knows that a possible switch to Man Utd is a huge opportunity.

Before Branthwaite could follow Yoro and De Ligt to Man Utd, Ratcliffe would need to sell at least one of Victor Lindelof or Harry Maguire first.

Meanwhile, Ten Hag has decided that rising stars Harry Amass and Toby Collyer will be staying at Man Utd this summer, rather than being shipped out on loan.

Ten Hag has been impressed by the performances of 17-year-old left-back Amass and 20-year-old defensive midfielder Collyer in pre-season.

The duo would likely receive plenty of loan interest, should they be put on the market, but Football Transfers report that Ten Hag wants to give them first-team experience at Man Utd this season.

Collyer made his senior debut during the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City, while Amass has yet to make his debut as he narrowly missed out on the squad for that clash.

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