MANCHESTER UNITED have been put on alert with Everton expecting to lose Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.
The Toffees are facing a huge summer overhaul at the end of the season, with just 11 senior players currently under contract for next season.
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While defender Branthwaite has a deal running until 2027, with an option to extend by another year, senior figures at Goodison Park have already accepted he will depart.
United failed in a bid for the England Under-21 international last summer, while SunSport can reveal the Toffees rejected a significant bid from a Premier League rival on deadline day in January.
The Red Devils are expected to return again this summer as they look to build a squad capable of playing Ruben Amorim’s style, with the Everton man valued at over £50million.
But United will not be alone. Tottenham have previously expressed an interest in the 22-year-old and could return should Cristian Romero depart this summer.
With Branthwaite’s likely departure and a host of senior figures out of contract at the end of the season, David Moyes knows he faces a frantic summer.
Everton are expected to be one of the busiest clubs in the window and could need up to eight new signings to bolster their squad for a first campaign at their new Bramley Moore Dock home.
Moyes recently offered a defiant response to suggestions Branthwaite needed to leave in order to make Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
The Scot said: “I would say to him – Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and Joleon Lescott.
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“That’s three who we brought in who went on to become internationals for England, which was a great achievement.
“Jarrad is in the position that he can easily go on and do that. I think it’s a challenge for Jarrad to pick it up and say, ‘Come on, let me show what I can do’.
“This club has developed a number of internationals over the years and we’ve got a very good goalkeeper [Jordan Pickford] playing for England as well.”
Despite Moyes’ hope that Branthwaite will remain in the blue half of Merseyside, those above the ex-West Ham boss have accepted that his fate lies elsewhere.
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