Manchester City will be looking to reinforce this summer – and Vincent Kompany has dropped an exciting verdict on one player the club are said to be looking at.
City beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to take three more points, keeping the pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool.
Kevin De Bruyne, rested in midweek against Aston Villa, scored two goals. Rico Lewis and Erling Haaland were also on target for the visitors.
But there was to be no clean sheet for Stefan Ortega Moreno and the defenders.
Palace actually took the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta, and conceded again late on to Odsonne Edouard. While Pep Guardiola will be glad of the three points, he will likely be frustrated about the two goals conceded.
It is possible Pep will seek to strengthen his defence this summer, and one man who has been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium in recent months is Jarrad Branthwaite.
Yesterday, Burnley manager – and City legend – Vincent Kompany was left pretty impressed by him…
Vincent Kompany lauds Man City target Jarrad Branthwaite
City are reported to be one of several clubs looking at £35,000-a-week ace Branthwaite heading into the summer.
The likelihood is that the club will not have a straight run at the 21-year-old, who combines classy ball-playing and rock-solid defending.
The star has featured heavily for Everton this season, making 34 appearances across competitions. This, after he had a successful loan spell with PSV Eindhoven last term.
Branthwaite played for Everton against Burnley on Saturday – and Branthwaite put in another top performance, leading to praise from former City captain Kompany after the game.
He said (via Liverpool Echo): “Full credit to Everton, there were loads of blocked shots. If that kid Branthwaite keeps putting his body on the line like this, I can’t keep telling my strikers.
“The kid is sliding across five times and he’s doing really well. Tarky is doing a really good job at the backline and they’ve done that really well.
“Branthwaite is a young defender and sometimes it’s important to stay away from the hype a little bit. It’s just a really objective analysis of moments where my strikers have done so well and he gets back, sometimes his team-mates get beaten, but he reads the moment to go and cover.
“It’s a side of the game that he has that is really promising for the future.”
City have to make move for Branthwaite
Branthwaite continues to really impress in the Premier League and it would be really exciting to see City sign the player this summer.
He now has the backing of former City captain and club legend Kompany, and it’s clear he has all the makings of a top Premier League centre-half.
He has already had comparisons to John Stones, who we know does not have a good injury record.
Perhaps it would sense for City to try and land him as a long-term replacement for Stones. And it may well be that the club will need to do it this summer.
Because there is heavy interest in the player, and it may be a case of ‘now or never’.