Former Everton midfielder Don Hutchison believes Manchester United might offer one of their players in a swap deal to sign Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.
The talented England defender had an unbelievable 2023/24 season for the Toffees. He was one of their best players.
Branthwaite narrowly missed out on the final England squad for Euro 2024, but his performances over the past season have still earned him many admirers.
Manchester United are one of them, and they have already made a bid to sign Branthwaite.
Hutchison, who played 84 games for Everton back in the day, now thinks the Red Devils could come back in with a player-plus-cash offer to sign the Toffees defender.
Don Hutchison thinks Harry Maguire could be offered to Everton in Jarrad Branthwaite deal
Everton want good money for Branthwaite and rightly so.
TBR Football exclusively revealed in May that the Toffees will not sell their star centre-back in a cut-price deal – they want a world-record fee for a defender to let him go.
That title, ironically, is held by Harry Maguire, who Manchester United signed for £80 million in the summer of 2019 (BBC).
Manchester United’s opening offer for Branthwaite was £35 million (The Athletic). Everton, unsurprisingly, turned that down – it’s less than half the fee that want for him.
It will be interesting to see if the Red Devils will go back in with a much bigger offer in the coming weeks. We’re sure another low-ball offer will be rejected as well.
Hutchison has now claimed that United could decide to offer Maguire as a part of the deal to sign Branthwaite this summer.
Speaking on ESPN FC, the former Everton man said: “£35 million is a ridiculous offer, they are low-balling Everton massively.
“If they are going to sell Branthwaite, they were rumoured to be wanting about £80 million, but that will probably come down to £60 million or £70 million, but they want a lot of money for him.”
When asked about who Branthwaite would partner at United, Hutchison said: “For United, him (Branthwaite) and Lisandro Martinez (would be the first choice pairing).
“I think they’ll try and move Harry Maguire on – [he’s] on big wages, that’ll be difficult, they might even try and use him in the Branthwaite deal if they tried to bring him in.”
What should Everton do if they’re offered Maguire plus cash for Branthwaite
Branthwaite is one of the best young centre-backs in Europe right now.
The Englishman, still only 21 years old, has been brilliant in the Premier League for the Toffees, and he would be an incredible signing for most clubs in the country.
Manchester United are right to target Branthwaite – he would solve many of their problems. However, we think Everton should hold out for big money.
An offer of Maguire plus cash for Brathwaite, if it does arrive, makes no sense for the Toffees. The Manchester United defender is 31 already, and he has had his fair share of injury issues recently.
To add to that, he is on massive wages – nearly £190,000-a-week (Spotrac). That’s more than every player at Everton.
So, in our opinion, Everton shouldn’t even consider Maguire if he’s offered in a deal for Branthwaite.