David Ornstein has shared how Everton believe Jarrad Branthwaite feels about the idea of remaining at Goodison Park this summer, amid interest from the Toffees’ Premier League rivals.
Jarrad Branthwaite is one of the most exciting defensive prospects in the top-flight right now, with the 21-year-old proving to be a stalwart of Sean Dyche’s side this past season.
Manchester United have already made a £45 million bid for Branthwaite this summer, but it appears that Everton are going to be holding out for so much more.
TBR exclusively reported Everton want at least £80 million for Branthwaite, which would represent a world record fee for a defender this summer.
David Ornstein says Everton think Branthwaite is happy to stay
Of course, Everton have had their financial issues in the last couple of years, being handed points deductions, and Manchester United may be hoping that the centre-back is keen enough to make the move to Old Trafford that he can put a bit of pressure on himself.
However, it seems that Everton are not expecting any issues from the youngster this summer, with David Ornstein telling The Athletic FC Podcast that they hope that Branthwaite would be content to stick around.
“Everton don’t intend to sell Jarrad Branthwaite, they want to keep him, they think he’s happy at the club and prepared, at his age and stage of his journey, to stay a little bit longer, to move into the new stadium with them, and then let’s see what the future brings,” he said.
“And, at the same time, yes, they have a PSR issue that’s been well-documented, I’m not sure it’s as big as some people think because of the cost-cutting they’ve managed to do in recent times, and that immediately leads to the idea that they could solve that problem through other means, by maybe shifting academy players before this 30th June cut-off, by looking at other parts of the first-team squad.
“I don’t think they want to use Jarrad Branthwaite as that saviour, and if they can keep him, they will, and that will embolden them to stick to their valuation and if someone comes and meets it, fair play.”
Everton teammate could be sold to Premier League rivals this month
Branthwaite staying put perhaps makes it increasingly likely that one of his teammates will be sold in this window, with Amadou Onana also attracting interest.
Arsenal are now favourites to sign Onana, with Everton said to prefer the idea of selling the Belgian before the end of the month.
Onana is another potential superstar, but he surely was not as consistent as Branthwaite had been throughout the campaign, so you could understand if the Toffees felt more in favour of the idea of raising funds by selling the midfielder.