If at first you don’t succeed, and your bid gets knocked back, come back with another, improved one. Manchester United first submitted a bid of £35 million to Everton FC, for central defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
The Toffees swiftly rejected it, as they are said to be holding out for a fee in the neighborhood of £70m.
Breaking: Man Utd submit improved offer of £45m plus £5m for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite #mufc
— Chris Wheeler (@ChrisWheelerDM) July 8, 2024
Now, according to journalist Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail (as you can see from the tweet above), Old Trafford returned to the bargaining table and raised the stakes. The £45m up front, with an additional £5m in add-ons, is still likely to be turned down.
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, it is pretty much certain that Everton will shoot this down. This despite the fact that Branthwaite wants the move has long agreed personal terms.
That said, there really isn’t much about Branthwaite that justifies the Toffees’ astronomical price tag for him. No one really rates him at that valuation, nor has he shown enough, thus far, to command that amount.
But here we are, with a transfer saga that looks set to replicate the tediousness of Harry Maguire from Leicester City to Manchester United in 2018.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.