Man Utd, Tottenham now ‘leading the race’ for £100m Everton star as transfer battle takes another twist

Manchester United and Tottenham are reportedly at the front of the queue to sign Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite at the end of the season. 

The talented 21-year-old has helped his team to keep seven clean sheets this term – the third-most of any player in the Premier League.

Branthwaite is considered to be one of the most exciting young defenders in Europe. Sean Dyche wants to keep him at Everton for as long as possible, but the Toffees may find it difficult to turn down a big offer.

They reportedly slapped a £100m price tag on the defender in January and are likely to demand a similar fee in the summer.

Although, if Everton are relegated, they may be forced into accepting less.

As previously noted by TEAMtalk, Man Utd, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid have all registered an interest in signing Branthwaite.

Now, a fresh report has named the favourites in the race to sign the youngster.

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Man Utd, Tottenham ‘pushing’ to sign Branthwaite

According to The Daily Mail, Man Utd and Tottenham are ‘pushing more than most’ to sign Branthwaite in the summer.

The report notes that Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid have ‘all enquired’ about the England under-21s international, but the Red Devils and Spurs are leading the race.

New Man Utd minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to make Old Trafford the perfect place to develop top prospects and Branthwaite certainly fits into that category.

A new centre-back is one of the Red Devil’s priorities, with Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo and Lille’s Leny Yoro also on his radar.

Homegrown players are going to be a key focus for all Premier League clubs, however, and Branthwaite ‘appeals because he is a left-sided centre-back – something Erik ten Hag wants to add to his squad.

As for Tottenham, they have added defender Micky van de Ven to their ranks this season but Ange Postecoglou still wants to strengthen at the back.

This is especially important after Spurs offloaded Eric Dier to Bayern Munich, with Joe Rodon also looking likely to leave on a permanent deal.

With that in mind, it seems likely that both of the PL rivals will make an offer for Branthwaite in the coming months.

For now, the youngster’s focus will be on helping Everton avoid regelation, with the Merseyside club currently in 18th place in the table.

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