The Rumour Mill never rests and the name of Jarrad Branthwaite never seems to be very far away from its relentless grinding.
The transfer window is months away and Jarrad Branthwaite is yet to make a single appearance this season as he struggles with injury but that is not sufficient reason to prevent the major tabloids from ejaculating over a supposed race for his signature next year by Liverpool and Manchester Utd.
According to The Mirror, “the centre-back is a long-time target of the Old Trafford top brass, who tried to sign him before.” That was for an insulting fee of only £40M that Everton rejected. The floundering Sky Six club who lost at Brentford on Saturday have supposedly increased his valuation, with the unsubstantiated report claiming that “United may test the water with a £65M bid in the January transfer window.”
The story is echoed in The Star, and Daily Express, with variants of it appearing at other clickbait sites in the last few days, some claiming that Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will also be in the chase.
The report adds that “Liverpool are also very keen on the 23-year-old” as they also lost at Crystal Palace yesterday. But Everton have given Branthwaite a decent contract that runs through 2030, and that should help to keep him at Everton as he works to regain full fitness and bring his much-needed match sharpness to a backline that is leaking goals without him.