The Manchester United supporters know all too well that, when it comes to Harry Maguire, you have little choice but to take the rough with the smooth.
On one hand, the England international is a fine penalty box defender. Chuck a cross into the mixer and watch old ‘Slabhead’ pound it clear. Harry Maguire is a warrior. Brave, strong, and willing to throw his body on the line to keep the sheet clean. There is also an argument to be made that, in the absence of the dearly-missed Lisandro Martinez, the former Leicester City ace is also Manchester United‘s best line-breaking centre-half.
Of course, you’d have to have spent the last few years living under a rock not to notice all the criticism that has come Maguire’s way. While much-improved during Erik ten Hag’s second season in charge, there remains concerns over his concentration and his positional sense when playing in a high line.
But what if we told you that there is a defender on the market – a defender reportedly emerging as Man United’s number one centre-half target – who possesses all of Maguire’s strengths, yet also has a skill-set rounded enough to ensure he does not suffer from the same weaknesses?
Manchester United prioritising Jarrad Branthwaite
Enter Jarrad Branthwaite. For Stan Collymore, the former Aston Villa, Liverpool and Newcastle striker writing in his latest Caught Offside column, there are reasons to believe the Everton colossus can be Maguire’s long-term successor.
Not just for Man United, but for England too.
“(Could Branthwaite be the) heir apparent to Harry Maguire for club and country?” Collymore muses.
“Just be wary of the ‘English levy’ on his price, and any potential suitor should get a very nice deal for a player who could be a mainstay for some years top come.”
According to The Mirror, Branthwaite is United’s leading defensive target in the INEOS era. An outstanding breakthrough season at Everton ensures that the 21-year-old can now boast serious Premier League pedigree, and that cannot be said of the likes of Goncalo Inacio, Antonio Silva or Leny Yoro.
Branthwaite’s two-footedness will also appeal. He, like Maguire, can play as a left or a right-sided centre-half. At 6ft 5ins, he is outstanding in the air but also extremely mobile. Branthwaite, who has been on United’s radar since bursting onto the scene as a teenager at Carlisle, is a fine passer of the ball too, and proved his eye-catching technical ability with a sublime strike against Brighton and Hove Albion recently.
Harry Maguire’s ‘heir apparent’?
“Jarrad Branthwaite with Everton, you watch him this season, you think he’s good,” Ian Wright, the Arsenal legend, says on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast. “Pace? Oh, brilliant. Reading of the game? Fantastic. Attacking the ball? brilliant in both boxes. Passing out…
The Mirror reports that Everton want £75 million for the former PSV Eindhoven loanee, who played under Man United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy last season in the Eredivisie.
The Toffees may not be negotiating from a position of strength given their precarious financial position, however. Man United will know that too, hoping to tie up a deal closer to £50 million.