Jarrad Branthwaite

That makes no sense to be honest. De Ligt is clearly a signing regardless, not a back up to Yoro.
Are you seriously questioning the credentials of a nineteen year old aspiring journalist called SCOOP who clearly is ITK?
 
Maguire is at least one level about Tarkowski (and i'm not a fan of Maguire).

My point was not to compare or judge by ability...rather that we already have an older CB who performs for us and our MO this summer appears to be targeting players in the age range of 21-25 and trying to tap into current ability/potential rather than *signing* older players who would be on high wages.
 
Although swap deals are pretty rare I would think this would make sense. Maguire would be a top player for Everton.

We'd have to carry on paying his wages and he was our best CB last season.

Lindelof would be a lot more managable for them
 
I don't think Maguire would agree to go to Everton. He refused to go West Ham last summer and Everton are a similar level, if not a level below them. In the end, he got plenty of game time here and I think he'd be hoping for the same this season. Likely to leave on a free at the end of the coming season.

We could try with one of AWB or Lindelof.
 
He is not worth more than De Ligt or Yoro or Calafiori. All going for around 40m.

First of all - it is a bit more complex than that. I would rather argue that someone like De Ligt is undervalued at £40 million - and that is because Bayern wants to get rid of him, whereas Everton badly wants to keep Branthwaite. In addition - signing an English player from an english club will add £ to the total value. We may not like it - but that is the reality we live in.

Does that mean Branthwaite is a better player - no, but it means he will cost more.

HOWEVER - what I reacted to wasn't the fact that you think he is not worth more than De Ligt or Yoro. Well for the reasons I wrote above - he will be more expensive even if he is not better but - I reacted to the fact that you wrote that we will end up signing him for £65 mill - and he is not worth half of that.

Clearly - he is. Cucurella, Fofana, Martinez, Botman, Aguerd, Zinchenko, Gvardiol, Livramento, Disasi, Porro, Van de Ven, Timber, Torres are all defenders who have been sold for £30 million upwards - Branthwaite isn't less talented than all of these players. Is Branthwaite worth £70 million ? Nah. Is Branthwaite worth more than £30 million ? Of course.
 
I spend about an hour every day annoying myself by saying this guy's name in the yokel fashion it demands. In the West Country style, obviously, even though he is "technically" from Cumbria.
 
£50m is already a big offer. Ben White who was a more sought after CB and had a better year at Brighton moved for same sum. We should walk away and let Everton dick around and sell him for half that fee in an year time. Case in point, Antony Gordon. Wanted £80m for him from Chelsea, ended up selling to Newcastle for £40m 6 months later. We should stop negotiating if clubs are this stubborn, move on to new targets.
 
£50m is already a big offer. Ben White who was a more sought after CB and had a better year at Brighton moved for same sum. We should walk away and let Everton dick around and sell him for half that fee in an year time. Case in point, Antony Gordon. Wanted £80m for him from Chelsea, ended up selling to Newcastle for £40m 6 months later. We should stop negotiating if clubs are this stubborn, move on to new targets.
This, we can't allow them to rinse us and run the risk of being stuck with a worthless asset that can't meet the technical requirements of the level we want to operate at. Move on to less risky and cheaper options and keep our powder dry to keep us in position to sign the next best prospect in a year or two. I'd rather we avoid buying from the PL altogether and focus on the continent and South America then use our academy to meet out HG quota needs.
 
Really hope this one breaks down, I don't think he's good enough and 45m plus add-ons is about what he's worth.
 
Whilst we did have the Yoro bid accepted, I can't help but believe we knew he was holding out for Madrid, so we are now hedging. We hope the Yoro bid pressures Everton (as De Ligt is all but announced), and if it doesn't then we are hoping Madrid doesn't want to come in for Yoro at this price when he's on a free in a year's time.

Instead of the Murtough approach of obsessing on one target and just caving after 15 rounds of bidding, we are pressuring Everton and lille at the same time to advantage us in negotiations.

Basic fecking competence is like a soothing tonic for this fanbase, we've been hurt and abused for too long by idiots.

Actually I think our preference is that both Everton and Yoro accept and we sign both, with De Ligt as backup. But while De Ligt is straightforward where we can pull the trigger whenever, we want answers from these two first before doing so. Branthwaite/Martinez/Yoro is in incredibly good 3 man CB rotation that has potential to be the best in the world if the young ones develop like many think they can.

If not, we sign De Ligt and then move on to potentially cheaper young 3rd CB prospect. But Branthwaite and Yoro seem like priority 1 at the moment (as they should be)
 
Really hope this one breaks down, I don't think he's good enough and 45m plus add-ons is about what he's worth.
Yeah, the same. I hate defenders who dive in tackles all the time. That is probably why i am so against this transfer.



Half of these tackles are reckless. 50:50 tackles where it can end with foul or player going through.
 
Last edited:
He’s not a bad player at all. But when you start to get to £50m fees you want pretty much the whole complete package.

We’re in danger of being taken for silly money for someone who is very solid but not necessarily technically proficient.
 
He’s not a bad player at all. But when you start to get to £50m fees you want pretty much the whole complete package.

We’re in danger of being taken for silly money for someone who is very solid but not necessarily technically proficient.
This is exactly how I feel.
Everton are free to ask for whatever they want. I don't think he's worth over £50 million though.
 
My point was not to compare or judge by ability...rather that we already have an older CB who performs for us and our MO this summer appears to be targeting players in the age range of 21-25 and trying to tap into current ability/potential rather than *signing* older players who would be on high wages.
Fair point.
 
This is exactly how I feel.
Everton are free to ask for whatever they want. I don't think he's worth over £50 million though.
One good, not great season in the PL, being young and English = £70million apparently. How Everton can consider Branthwaite in the bucket of the likes of Gvardiol and Maguire (at that time) is mad but to be expected. We need to leave this one alone and focus elsewhere for now.
 
One good, not great season in the PL, being young and English = £70million apparently. How Everton can consider Branthwaite in the bucket of the likes of Gvardiol and Maguire (at that time) is mad but to be expected. We need to leave this one alone and focus elsewhere for now.

To be fair he also played in Europa League the previous season whilst on loan at PSV, yes he's not worth 70m but he isn't a one season of senior football player either.
 
One good, not great season in the PL, being young and English = £70million apparently. How Everton can consider Branthwaite in the bucket of the likes of Gvardiol and Maguire (at that time) is mad but to be expected. We need to leave this one alone and focus elsewhere for now.

Has he asked for a transfer?
 
What are they thinking now? With seeing us in talks with Yoro and De Ligt they all must be panicking. Everton maybe less (if they want to keep him) but Branthwaite is not happy for sure.
 
What are they thinking now? With seeing us in talks with Yoro and De Ligt they all must be panicking. Everton maybe less (if they want to keep him) but Branthwaite is not happy for sure.

there are rumours they’re offering £5m for us to take him.
 
What are they thinking now? With seeing us in talks with Yoro and De Ligt they all must be panicking. Everton maybe less (if they want to keep him) but Branthwaite is not happy for sure.

I'm sure if he's unhappy then he will put in a transfer request.

Why would we be panicking? We don't want to sell him hence why we have said 70m or no deal.
 
I'm sure if he's unhappy then he will put in a transfer request.

Why would we be panicking? We don't want to sell him hence why we have said 70m or no deal.
That is why i said IF Everton want to sell (but tried to get bigger fee). If you are happy with keeping him then all this news is good for you.
Same goes about player; IF he wants transfer then he knows that chance is becoming smaller for it.
 
I'm sure if he's unhappy then he will put in a transfer request.

Why would we be panicking? We don't want to sell him hence why we have said 70m or no deal.

I agree with you that I doubt Everton are panicking. It’s just about risk management for them. They can get a good fee in for a homegrown talent and eradicate any PSR concerns they have for the foreseeable future, if they compromise on the fee and settle at something like 55-60m. On the flip side, they’ll probably skim through PSR without needing to sell him and if he has another good season, someone - if not United - will pay the 70-75m they want next summer. A young, homegrown, high calibre CB talent, who is two footed and physically dominant, is always going to attract a high fee within the PL.

If I was Everton, and I believed in his talent, I would hold out for the 70m, and if I didn’t get it, would hold on to him for another season. If he performs as expected, his value will only go up and there will always be a market for him.

The only circumstances in which Everton could be motivated to compromise on the fee is if (a) they need the funds sooner rather than later in order to bring in other targets they view as essential, (b) they still have PSR concerns, and/or (c) the player pushes really hard for the move and they don’t want to force an unhappy player to stay, and/or they care about the players wishes to take the next step in his career.

There’s no doubt a move to United is a huge opportunity for Branthwaite, one that might not come around again if United make alternative moves in the market, and it would be a shame for him if Everton stood too dogmatically in the way of that. But, at the end of the day, the Everton board have an ethical and fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for the club, not what is best for the player.

Personally, I really rate Branthwaite and think he’d be a great long term signing for United. He’d cover three positions, RCB, LCB and LB, is already playing at a high level and has loads of potential to improve. A 55m(ish) fee seems like a fair price to me, and gives Everton a good chunk of change to refresh their squad, and the player gets a dream move. But I don’t particularly expect them to be reasonable in this negotiation, and nor do they have much reason to be so. They hold all the cards. The only card United hold is the willingness to walk away, which means we have to have an alternative lined up, but of course means we don’t get the player we really wanted.

By way of compromise I could envisage a situation where Branthwaite moves to United for 70m, but Hannibal (10m) and Kambwala (5m), move in the other direction. Two players who are young, high potential, and ready to get a lot more minutes, and would add some decent depth to the Everton squad.
 
Last edited:
I agree with you that I doubt Everton are panicking. It’s just about risk management for them. They can get a good fee in for a homegrown talent and eradicate any PSR concerns they have for the foreseeable future, if they compromise on the fee and settle at something like 55-60m. On the flip side, they’ll probably skim through PSR without needing to sell him and if he has another good season, someone - if not United - will pay the 70-75m they want next summer. A young, homegrown, high calibre CB talent, who is two footed and physically dominant, is always going to attract a high fee within the PL.

If I was Everton, and I believed in his talent, I would hold out for the 70m, and if I didn’t get it, would hold on to him for another season. If he performs as expected, his value will only go up and there will always be a market for him.

The only circumstances in which Everton could be motivated to compromise on the fee is if (a) they need the funds sooner rather than later in order to bring in other targets they view as essential, (b) they still have PSR concerns, and/or (c) the player pushes really hard for the move and they don’t want to force an unhappy player to stay, and/or they care about the players wishes to take the next step in his career.

There’s no doubt a move to United is a huge opportunity for Branthwaite, one that might not come around again if United make alternative moves in the market, and it would be a shame for him if Everton stood too dogmatically in the way of that. But, at the end of the day, the Everton board have an ethical and fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for the club, not what is best for the player.

Personally, I really rate Branthwaite and think he’d be a great long term signing for United. He’d cover three positions, RCB, LCB and LB, is already playing at a high level and has loads of potential to improve. A 55m(ish) fee seems like a fair price to me, and gives Everton a good chunk of change to refresh their squad, and the player gets a dream move. But I don’t particularly expect them to be reasonable in this negotiation, and nor do they have much reason to be so. They hold all the cards. The only card United hold is the willingness to walk away, which means we have to have an alternative lined up, but of course means we don’t get the player we really wanted.

By way of compromise I could envisage a situation where Branthwaite moves to United for 70m, but Hannibal (10m) and Kambwala (5m), move in the other direction. Two players who are young, high potential, and ready to get a lot more minutes, and would add some decent depth to the Everton squad.
So, you would pay 85 mil for him?
 
So, you would pay 85 mil for him?

Huh? No.

I’d pay 70m for him and have them pay 15m for Hannibal and Kambwala. Meaning 55m net. It would help both teams with PSR and we could get some nice sell on clauses or performance related bonuses attached to the individual deals for Hannibal and Big Willy. You added instead of subtracting.

The only additional cost to United is the opportunity cost associated with potentially negotiating higher fees for Hannibal or Kambwala with other clubs. But getting those two players at very reasonable (low) fees is the added benefit to Everton that could tip this deal in our favour. Kambwala only has a year left on his contract and might well leave for free next summer. Hannibal is high potential but he’s going to struggle for minutes this season and is clearly on the market anyway. Both are, nevertheless, decent players who also have a decent resale value, are young, and have the potential to develop into valuable players for a mid table PL club. They paid us 15m for Garner who had way less first team experience than Hannibal does at this stage.
 
Last edited: