13 Jun 2024 21:35:56
Terms agreed with braithwaite we now need to agree a fee with Everton.
13 Jun 2024 22:22:03
Yup just to sort the deal with Everton now. In other news Ornstein has also said us along with Liverpool and PSG are pushing for Yoro but are wary Madrid may come in guessing it's all based on price.
13 Jun 2024 23:16:16
Good news if true! Although increasing his wages from £40k to £150k seems excessive if reports are right.
Also seeing we are linked with Yoro and tracking De Ligt. I'll be happy if we can complete on one of them if we can move another defender on.
14 Jun 2024 06:18:40
Personally hope not and quite a few out there that i like better. Yoro is a different class for me, bremer, todibo, tapsoda, silva all much better. hope he does not turn into a next maguire.
Overhyped British player with crazy valuation.
14 Jun 2024 06:56:35
ahmad
In a world where Wesley Fofana was once bought for £70m plus add-ons, based on 57 appearances, I think Branthwaite is far better value for £70m.
Is Fofana British?
14 Jun 2024 07:03:11
Ahmad, how on earth can you say those players mentioned are better? None have played in the prem whereas branthwaite has been standout in a struggling Everton team who had an outstanding defensive record.
Not sure who has been over hyping him either.
14 Jun 2024 07:41:08
Be very interesting to see the final transfer fee agreed if we arrive at one. Will show whether we have progressed in negotiations or not.
14 Jun 2024 07:56:23
What was it folk said about which foot he used. ???.
14 Jun 2024 08:21:13
I think could be a fun 3-4 weeks. Branthwaite seems to have been our first choice for a while. We will see at least one CB, but that will depend on the futures of Maguire and Lindelof I guess. May be this summer we can only sell one, and I’d sell Lindelof. De Ligt is a signing that would akso be a no brainer for me if we can get him.
Ed 2 has discussed Zirkzee, but is likely Milan bound. Jonathan David has popped up again, and could be a shrewd bit of business. He’s versatile, scores goals, a good age profile at 24, and ready for a step up to support Hojlund.
Then we have to address the midfield conundrum - but guess again that depends if we can sell Sancho and Casemiro.
All change!
14 Jun 2024 08:30:29
Guys just a personal opinion. Not great in distribution imo and if you check out top speed stats I believe he has the lowest of the group I mentioned. If it happens, I hope he proves me very wrong. He goes to ground far too often for my liking and good/ great CB's stay on their feet and bully you off the ball.
ORK
Just because Chelsea do crazy deals on a consistent basis it does not justify us following suit. Its like saying Antony cost 80 million so we should spend 100 million on another winger, who is not worth it.
For me Branthwaite is 40 mill player. No way he is worth 70 mill when supposedly Silva is available for slightly higher. The gap between the two is significant imo. Anyone who think Branthwaite is in the league of Taposoda at leverkusen needs a head check or has not watched either player properly imo.
Chelsea are like a trading house when it comes to players and I have lost track of who is there, who goes in and who goes out. Is Fofana even playing much?
Finally how can you justify paying him 150k a week when Mainoo and Garnacho are on 20k and 80k I believe. The whole story sounds bs to me or way off the mark in terms of where the real numbers will be if it happens.
40% to 50% of transfers generally don't pan out as you expected. Shifting a CB at 150k and 70 mill cost if he does not work out becomes our next issue and groundhog day for a club that is supposedly very tight on finances and has massive capital outlay coming in terms of new training ground and a new stadium.
14 Jun 2024 08:58:09
Vibes of Phil Jones with this guy. Future united and england captain… hmm.
14 Jun 2024 09:16:56
Admittedly I’ve not watched Braithwaite every week, but anything over £30m seems a massive gamble, in my opinion.
He’s had one season in a team that sits deep and doesn’t play in a style that ETH apparently wants to. To spend that much on him seems crazy to me. From reports, it’s basically our entire summer budget on one largely unproven player.
Don’t know why, but he gives me Phil Jones vibes.
Obviously hoping I’m taking rubbish and he turns out to be world class.
14 Jun 2024 09:35:51
Branthwaite looks a quality player but the whole deal needs to be right. Something more like £40/ 50m with reasonable add ons might be more realistic.
Also, would Maguire going the other way be something that could help. I am sure Maguire would like a bigger club but who is looking at him, feels like they could be a good fit.
If we do bring in a second young CB we will have quality depth, flexibility if we wanted to try 3 at the back and also allow for Martinez to cover RB/ HM if required.
14 Jun 2024 09:43:08
I think Branthwaite makes a lot of sense. He's young, British (homegrown), comfortable on the ball and great at covering in the channel, can play either LCB or RCB as he's naturally left footed but very comfortable with his right, which means he can cover for Licha at LCB or play RCB alongside him, he's also EPL proven (even players who've shown world class ability on the continent have flopped in the EPL) .
The only drawback is the price, yet in truth we NEED to recruit some homegrown players as the likes of Heaton, Evans, Maguire, AWB, McTominay, Sancho, Greenwood and possibly Rashford are likely to leave either this summer or next. So we need to bring in top quality homegrown players to replace them.
Of the homegrown players available Branthwaite is amoungst the best and possibly has the highest ceiling.
The only other homegrown players that I'd want is to sign other than Branthwaite are Olise, Guehi and Wharton.
All three play for Palace, Wharton won't be sold unless for a massive fee. Olise looks a good bet if we can raise the funds, but in truth plays in a position that isn't a top priority during a window where our budget will be limited. While I like Guehi and I'd be happy if we signed him Branthwaite is better in the air, younger, and has a higher ceiling. I also don't think there would be much of a difference in terms of transfer fee either.
I agree if the wages reported are accurate that seems a bit on the steep side. Although we don't know if they are accurate or whether those figures are linked to bonuses or clauses. If it's 80-100k basic wage and the rest linked to appearances and clean sheets then I don't have too much of a problem with it.
I don't actually mind us paying higher wages than most as long as they are linked to performances.
I wonder for example if 40% of Rashford's wages were linked to performances then would we have seen more from him this season? Yeah, I expect so.
For me to make this a successful transfer window we need to in priority order:
1. Move on all or as many of the players that aren't suited to the style we want to play or the level we need. We need to cut down the squad. It'll be almost impossible to cultivate a good dressing room atmosphere with a bloated squad with a dozen players hardly ever getting any playing time.
2. Target the priority areas first, CB, CDM and ST are absolute essentials. Then can we get a second CB, fullbacks, a second midfielder etc.
3. Get deals done for priority targets early, we can't afford to have key players joining after the season has started. We need to get them in, get them settled and try and hit the ground running at the start of next season.
In that respect Branthwaite is a priority target and we appear to be trying to get it done early.
14 Jun 2024 10:14:42
Ahmad, does it matter that he is slower than the other defenders you mentioned? Does that mean he's not quick? Of all centre-backs under the age of 23 in Europe’s top five leagues, Branthwaite has the highest success rate in defensive duels so what do we make of that compared to the list of players you mentioned?
Opinions are fine and we all have different ones but I feel like some fans will turn their nose up at Branthwaite because he's not got the continental surname as the others. You also seem fixated on £70M, we have no idea what the fee will be which is why I said it'll be interesting what the outcome of that is. On the flip side, he plays for us for 10 years, that's a £7M defender each season.
14 Jun 2024 14:05:35
Eric, I mentioned David a few weeks back and was shot down by the usual suspects. Also mentioned JB and again shot down.
14 Jun 2024 17:08:14
Jimbobred
You will have been shot down by those still struggling to come to terms with the reality that we don't have a place at the top table anymore.
All this gerfliff about players being 'not at our level, and 'not United quality' - these people need the coffee more than most.
Jonathan David would, imo, be a very wise signing, like our own version of Trossard who, for Arsenal, is arguably the most underrated player at the club.
Additionally, Lille need to shift him this summer and, at 24 with plenty of potential to improve, he fits the SJR profile.
ahmad
I agree that, from the outset, £70m for a CB is a lot, but he can play with either foot which, considering the defensive injury crisis we've just seen, would be very handy.
Of course he's not Tapsoba or Silva, but are we realistically going to be an option for either of them?
We need to be sensible this summer, but sensible can be expensive.
For most of last season, the left side of our defence was ruined by injury. Our 3 primary left-footed options of Martinez, Shaw and Malacia played a combined total of 23 PL games last season.
Do we know if we'll ever see Malacia in red again?
Is Martinez going to be one of those players dogged by niggles, like a Varane?
Is Shaw's body now shot?
Ultimately, £70m for the player is maybe too much, but £70m for something of a solution to a problem area might well be worthwhile.
14 Jun 2024 22:54:23
Who reported this?
14 Jun 2024 18:46:43
Ports
Its an opinion. He goes to ground too often and I don't like CB's who do that. They get found out against better players who have a bit of awareness and trickery. He slide tackles like a midfielder all the time and brave in the tackle, I give him that. He is a proto type sit deep english defender and average passer imo.
Of course what we spend on a player matters. The biggest issue for this club has been transfer cost and wages for years. I am sure the ones prior to him were all seen as a long term investment but many have turned out to be tulips and hard to even shift.
If the club is buying him is okay with me and hope it turns out well but the wages and cost has to make sense in a window where we are supposedly working with a tiny budget. Being home grown and British does have a premium but does not justify paying nose bleed cost.
The reports are way off the numbers imo.
16 Jun 2024 11:28:00
Ahmad, it's a game of opinions and we all have different points of view.
I quite like Branthwaite and think he's got a lot of potential. He's good at defending the channels and wins an insane percentage of his duels (especially for a 21 year old) . If I'm thinking of the ideal partner for Martinez they need to be a great cover defender, strong in the air, physical with a good but not nessicarily a phenomenal passing range.
I think Branthwaite ticks all of those boxes and if we bring in a second defender like Todibo (also a really good passing range) then a player like Branthwaite makes even more sense. Given his profile, age, potential and the fact that he's homegrown.
I also think his fee will be pretty fair for once. I'd expect something like 35-40m up front to meet Everton's PSR requirements, with a further 15-20m depending on performances and success criteria. Meaning he'll only cost more if he proves to be a good signing.
If we can get a future England international who can be a key player for us for potentially the next decade for less than 60m in the current market that is an absolute bargain.
All the Everton fans I know feel he is currently much better than Stones was at the same age. If he can have a similar trajectory in his career as Stones has since he left Everton then for maybe 60m we have a real bargain.