Former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton believes Spurs could “hijack” Manchester United’s move for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Branthwaite is a man in demand this summer following a successful season which saw him break into the England squad, although he missed out on the final squad for Euro 2024.
Everton will be desperate to keep hold of the 21-year-old and they are believed to value him at around £70m.
United are looking for defensive reinforcements following the departure of Raphael Varane, whilst doubts still surround the future of Harry Maguire, who was subject of strong interest from West Ham last summer.
The Red Devils have identified Branthwaite as their priority target, and saw an opening bid of £35m turned down earlier this month, which is someway short of Everton’s valuation.
Branthwaite is reportedly keen to join United, but there has been no significant progress since the opening offer, and Hutton believes his former club Spurs could be set to try and hijack the deal for the defender.
“I feel at times [Tottenham] have been light in that sense, actually across the back four,” he told Football Insider.
“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.”
Whether Spurs enter the race for Branthwaite remains to be seen, but given they conceded 61 goals last season Ange Postecoglou could be in the market for defensive reinforcements despite signing Micky van de Ven last summer and Radu Dragusin in January.
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