Manchester United told brutal Jarrad Branthwaite transfer truth as £70m question emerges

Andy Cole believes Manchester United's history of overpaying for central defenders will embolden Everton to hold out for their asking price in negotiations over Jarrad Branthwaite.

United had a £35m opening offer, plus around £8m in add-ons, rejected last week, with the Merseyside club valuing the player at around double that. A £70m transfer would make Branthwaite the second-most expensive defender in the club's history, behind the £80m paid to Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019.

Since then, the club also struck a £55 million deal for Lisandro Martinez and a £42 million agreement with Real Madrid for Raphael Varane. Cole believes any move for Branthwaite would mean United paying a similar price for the England international.

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Asked by Betfred if a £70m valuation is fair, Cole concurred: “100%. He’s 21 years old; Manchester United have offered £35 million plus add-ons, so why would Everton try and do them a favour and say that it’s a fantastic deal for them, especially when you consider the problems they have?

"Every centre-half that Manchester United has bought in the last ten years, they’ve overpaid for. They’ve spent a fortune on them, so what’s going to change now? To get him out of Everton, it’s going to cost you more than £35m plus add-ons.”

The last decade of transfers includes the £30m paid for Eric Bailly in 2016 and the £31 million spent on Victor Lindelof the following summer. Maguire and Martinez represent two of the ten most expensive central defenders ever, with Manchester City the only other club with multiple players on that list - Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias and John Stones.