Man Utd given hope in race for £75m-rated Premier League star as manager issues update

Manchester United's summer transfer plans have taken a twist after the Red Devils made Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite one of their main targets.

The England Under-21 star has been in fine form throughout the last six months after returning to Merseyside on the back of an impressive season-long loan spell at Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven. The former Carlisle United academy product has made 31 appearances in all competitions for Sean Dyche's side and his form has triggered speculation a number of big-name clubs are ready to make a move for the 21-year-old defender.

The Mirror have claimed Everton could demand over £75m for Branthwaite, who has been widely tipped to secure a first senior England call-up this week when Gareth Southgate names his squad for a friendly double header against Belgium and Brazil later this month. However, United will hope to secure Branthwaite for nearer the £50m mark and land a player they are believed to have placed at the top of their list of priorities for the summer transfer window.

Sean Dyche has already opened up on the possible departure of Branthwaite as he admitted he 'hoped' the defender would remain at Goodison Park after enjoying a largely positive season, despite the Toffees struggling in their battle against relegation from the Premier League.

He said: “We don’t want to sell any good players. It’s as simple as that, and he’s proven to be a very good player. We’re not in the business of trying to sell players. You only sell players if you have to sell players or there’s a problem. There’s no problem; therefore, I’m just hoping we don’t need to sell players. At the minute, we certainly don’t. So we will see.

"He's adapted well. There are things he still needs to work on, but you unravel a player slowly, you can't just fast-track everything into them and say 'that's it'. So while he's developing nicely and while he's learning, sometimes the hardest thing is not to coach at all when you just step away and go 'no, no, you're fine, you keep doing what you're doing'."