The Toffees centre-back is a target for several Premier League clubs but won’t be prized away from Everton cheaply.
Liverpool have emerged as unexpected rivals in the transfer race for in-demand Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite this summer in what could be a blow to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
The 22-year-old turned in an impressive campaign for the Toffees last season and isn't short of suitors this summer with the Merseyside club slapping a £70 million price tag on the England international. Manchester United appeared to have become frontrunners in recent weeks with report suggesting the Red Devils had seen a £35 million bid rejected by Everton.
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Former Spurs defender Alan Hutton claimed last week that Spurs could still look to hijack the deal after it had emerged that the Red Devils had seen a bid rebuffed. He told Football Insider: "I feel at times [Tottenham] have been light in that sense, actually across the back four. When you look at their starting back line, if any of them get injured or go missing for a good length of time, the players that come in aren’t quite up to the standard.
"To have someone in the door with that potential who could be a regular starter for England moving forward, that could be a great deal. He did really well last season, and there are talks [Cristian] Romero could be on the move, so there’s a few things in the pipeline that might lead towards them going for someone like [Branthwaite], and him filling that void at centre-half. I have heard there could be a hijack there, from people I speak to at the club.”
Despite reports, a third party may have now registered interest in Branthwaite and that comes from Everton's bitter rivals Liverpool. The Manchester Evening News reports that the Reds have emerged as favourites to complete what would be a head-turning signing.
Even as rumours swirl, Everton boss Sean Dyche is hopeful of holding onto the defender. The Toffees manager will be keen to avoid losing his star defender, especially having conceded three against Brighton at Goodison Park last weekend.
Dyche said: "I’m confident that the club are going to do the best they can to make sure we’re competitive but equally the club’s got an outside picture which is quite obvious and that’s not something that I can control.
"They do need to balance the finances better, we’ve done a lot of work with that since I’ve been here, and Kev [Thelwell] obviously is included in that, on the playing side to bring money in and lower the wage bill. We’ve done a pretty fair job I would say of that but the bigger picture of the club is dependent on what money is needed at any given time."