Everton can ease new points deduction fears with sale Manchester United desperately won't want

Arsenal could deal a blow to Manchester United’s hopes of signing Jarrad Branthwaite should the club act on interest in Amadou Onana.

The Gunners are understood to have contacted the Blues about the midfielder’s availability on Friday - the same day United tabled an opening bid for Branthwaite viewed as derisory. Mikel Arteta has long admired Onana and his next step could define a pivotal summer for Everton.

The transfer window opened with a bang at Finch Farm as Man United and Arsenal made overtures for two of the club’s most prized talents. Their interest in Branthwaite and Onana respectively has been little secret but the extent to which either club is prepared to push for each player remains unknown.

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The coming days will now be crucial to both their chances of landing a target well in advance of pre-season. Premier League clubs are currently building up to the end of the month, which will mark the conclusion of the current football financial year. It means clubs that are concerned about their proximity to the three-year loss threshold of £105m, set by the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations, are working toward improving their positions before the end of June. As many as six top flight clubs are thought to be in danger of breaching the rules that saw Everton handed two points deductions last season, with Nottingham Forest also sanctioned.

The Blues are thought to be among the clubs whose position would be strengthened if a sale was to be completed in advance of the deadline. The club’s calculations have been hindered by the failure to resolve an outstanding dispute over the manner in which interest on loans said to have been for the new stadium development were accounted for, however, a point that could be a compelling mitigating factor should there be allegations of a third breach by Everton. That argument was deferred by the commission that considered the second case against the club, earlier this year.

The vulnerability of certain clubs to ruthless bargain hunters is set to create a mini-deadline day on June 30 as worried teams scramble to improve their PSR figures. That is one theory behind the £35m opening bid made by United for Branthwaite on Friday afternoon. The Blues were set to reject that, deeming it unacceptable even with £8m of further add-ons that were viewed by the Red Devils as highly achievable.

Everton see Branthwaite, now a full England international who has emerged as one of Europe’s hottest defensive prospects after a remarkable breakthrough campaign on Merseyside, as having a far greater value than that of the opening offer. He is viewed as a key player and is thought to understand and appreciate the value of the opportunities to develop that the Blues have provided him so far. As a central figure in Sean Dyche’s defence, the club is adamant it will not be bullied into accepting a cut-price bid for Branthwaite.

The strength of that position could be bolstered should Arsenal decide to follow up on their contact over Onana. The 22-year-old is recognised as a talented player with a bright future ahead. But it is also understood at Everton that he is ambitious, with the Belgium international having spoken openly about his desire to keep challenging himself at the highest levels possible. And as gifted as he is, he is a player who is not right at the heart of Dyche’s tactics in the same way that Branthwaite, Jordan Pickford or Dominic Calvert-Lewin are. In the crucial week that redefined Everton’s season, Onana did not start in any of the wins over Nottingham Forest, Liverpool or Brentford that secured the club’s survival in April.

While Everton would gain more from a PSR perspective from the sale of Branthwaite, a player signed from Carlisle for £1m as a teenager, a suitable bid for Onana, who signed two years ago in a deal worth just in excess of £30m, could improve their position just enough to increase confidence over complying with the regulations for the first time in three years. The ECHO understands it would take a bid of around £50m for the Blues to enter negotiations over the player. There are questions over whether Arsenal would be able to follow through a deal of that size this month. While the Gunners are not expected to have any PSR issues from the turn of the month, their position was enough to influence the decision to sign David Raya on a loan-now, pay later deal at the start of last season. Arsenal are also understood to have other targets.

But should a suitable bid for Onana follow in the coming fortnight - regardless of who it is from - it would pave the way for a sale that could ease PSR concerns and remove any vulnerability to ruthless efforts to prise key player Branthwaite from the squad on the cheap. While Everton would still face a battle to keep the in-demand 21-year-old, any suitor - including Man United - would need to move much closer to the club’s valuation of the player before having any hope of landing a talent who could solve a club’s defensive issues for a decade.