Manchester United insist on signing of Premier league superstar to replace €310,000-a-week duo

Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth is “fully focused” on signing Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite in 2025, according to HITC.

The Red Devils had two bids rejected for the 22-year-old sensation during the summer as they refused to meet the Toffees’ £70million-plus valuation, with a bid totalling £50million including add-ons the highest they went before walking away from a deal.

United switched their attentions to Lille youngster Leny Yoro and Bayern Munich star Matthijs De Ligt to strengthen their defence instead in the summer window, but INEOS chiefs still see Branthwaite as a top target for the new year and are prepared to return with a new offer for the former Carlisle man.

According to a report by HITC, Branthwaite is a player that Dan Ashworth is a huge fan of and he was totally on board with the club’s bids for him even before he officially started in his role following his move from Newcastle United in the summer.

With INEOS plotting more transfers in 2025, the central defender is seen as a top target for the club once again and Ashworth is said to be fully focused on getting a deal done to take him to Old Trafford at some point in the next two transfer windows.

The 20-time English champions are likely to make room for him in their squad by allowing Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof both to depart at the end of their contracts next summer, with the England star’s £190,000-per-week deal and Sweden captain’s £120,000-per-week contract unlikely to be renewed as things currently stand.

Branthwaite, who has been described as a “superstar”, is yet to feature for Everton in the 2024/25 season after undergoing minor groin surgery in the summer, although he is expected to return for the weekend Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace as Sean Dyche’s side look for their first win of the season.

Everton are keen to tie the defender down to a new long-term contract to fend off interest from United, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to find an agreement.

“Of course i can do better than him; Ex- Manchester player makes admission on return to club ramps up the pressure on Erik ten Hag as struggles continues

The manager at Manchester United almost perenially looks like one bad result away from a crisis and for Erik ten Hag, there has been way more than one.

The performances have been encouraging recently, but there’s only so long that the manager can hitch his wagon to performances if they don’t translate to results.

The 1-1 draw vs FC Twente at home was another setback after the frustrating goalless draw vs Crystal Palace, and now, Manchester United have won just three of their eight games so far this season.

With the upcoming fixture list only getting more daunting, it looks like it will be make-or-break time for Ten Hag at Old Trafford.

Amidst all the madness, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made an admission that is sure to increase the pressure on the Dutchman.

This is not the Norwegian’s first rodeo. Solskjaer was drafted in as the emergency interim manager to relieve the club of the toxicity under Jose Mourinho.

He, of course, did that and much more to eventually become permanent and mastermind United’s best finish in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

His tenure ended the same way as it did for previous managers, in a dust of smoke as hope vanished since players stopped performing.

That doesn’t seem like it’s the case yet for Ten Hag but the pressure is nonetheless growing and the urgency for positive results is dire.

Solskjaer was asked if he would return to Man United if given the opportunity and the Norwegian surprisingly was frank about it.

He said: “I don’t like to talk about other manager’s jobs, but yes. Of course, I would!”

Although Solskjaer says he doesn’t like to talk about other manager’s jobs, his honest admission is unlikely to play any part in toning down the rumour mill.

While Solskjaer’s admission is likely to get many fans swooning, after all, United arguably played the best football since 2012 under his tenure, the reality is that United have to move on.

The new ownership is clearly functioning with a long-term vision and a plan to achieve it, and going back to Solskjaer, who was a breath of fresh air but had his credentials questioned, is not the right move.

That’s not even considering that despite the poor results this season, United’s underlying stats show they are clearly doing a lot right.

The cutting-edge missing is costing them points and wins but at this point, the board has to work under the assumption that results will end up matching the performance in the long term.

Most importantly, the dressing room seems to be firmly behind the manager, the cause of doom for almost every man who was in the hot seat before him.

Champions League qualification is the aim this season and while United have hardly started on the front foot in the league, it only takes one sustained run to surge up the table.

The performances have shown that they have the quality to make that run. It’s worth sticking with the manager to see if that becomes a reality.

Solskjaer is going nowhere anyway because that’s how much he loves the club.

“They know what to do, what can’t happen and in a game like today, we didn’t lose ;
Erik ten hag blast players In dressing room after Twente draw

Manchester United started their Europa League campaign with a disappointing 1-1 draw with FC Twente at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.

After Christian Eriksen had fired the Reds into a 1-0 lead with 35 minutes on the clock, the expectation was that United would add to their tally and mark their Europa League opener with a commanding victory.

However, Sam Lammers capitalised on an Eriksen mistake to bring Twente level with just over 20 minutes left, firing past Andre Onana at his near post. Twente’s supporters celebrated at full-time as though they had just been crowned Europa League champions.

To the Dutch side’s credit, they performed well, with their passion and desire worthy of a share of the spoils. For United, however, it was another underwhelming result to start a European campaign, meaning you now have to go back to 2020 for the last time they won their opening fixture in a European campaign.

Erik ten Hag, who is a boyhood Twente supporter, was understandably furious with his side’s performance, criticising his players for not grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck.

He said: “It was the game of their life, they fought for every yard and we didn’t. Ninety-nine per cent is not enough, you have to give 100 per cent, you have to kill the game and finish it off.

“We are leading 1-0 but you have to go for the second goal, then you kill the game.”

United were expected to come out for the second half and push for a second goal to kill the game off. However, they failed to assert themselves in the same way they did at Crystal Palace on Saturday, only peppering the visitors’ penalty area in the final 10 minutes.

Ten Hag has attempted to raise standards throughout his United tenure, and he did transform the dressing room culture in his first season at Old Trafford, ending the player-power era. However, he is bound to have been alarmed by Eriksen’s post-match admission, in which he said everyone within the dressing room felt Twente were hungrier for the win.

“We wanted more, but in the end, it was far from good enough and we said in the changing room that it looked like they wanted it more and that can’t be right,” Eriksen told TNT Sports.

“I think personally, you score a goal and think you’re a matchwinner, but obviously it’s gone the other way. Everyone is looking at themselves. Everyone is a professional footballer.

“They know what to do, what can’t happen and in a game like today, we didn’t lose but it felt like a loss and against FC Twente at home, that can’t happen.”

When you consider the demands Ten Hag puts on his players, demanding 100 per cent every single game regardless of the opposition, it is concerning when a player within the squad comes out and says the general feeling inside the changing room was that Twente wanted it more.