Manchester United have come back in with a second offer for Everton’s star young defender, Jarrad Branthwaite, but it still falls well short of the Blues’ valuation and has been summarily rejected.
The Red Devils had an opening bid of around £35m plus add-ons knocked back last month and they have now reportedly raised that by a paltry £10m to £45m, with another £5m in clauses.
Everton have made it clear that they won’t entertain offers below £70m so Man Utd can expect to receive the same response as before and have done so, according to multiple reports.
Branthwaite enjoyed a breakthrough Premier League campaign in 2023-24, cementing his place in the Blues’ defence alongside James Tarkowski and just falling short of being included in England’s squad for Euro 2024.
It had been thought that United had dropped their interest in the 22-year-old and switched their attention to Matthis de Ligt but now both Mail Sport and Fabrizio Romano are reporting this marginally increased offer, although the Italian suggests that the Manchester club wants both players.