United’s search for a centre-back continues, however it’s now been announced who the Red Devils key targets to build the defence around are.
With Raphael Varane set to leave the club this summer, with his contract at an end, United need a solid replacement to lead the line at Old Trafford.
Admittedly United still have Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Willy Kambwala, however all of these except for Martinez are entering their final year of contract, so the Premier League club may be open to negotiations for these three to avoid them leaving for free at the end of their contracts next year.
Alongside the potential of a substantial number of defenders leaving the club, the injury pile up experienced this year, which severely affected the defence is a situation the Red Devils will definitely want to avoid again.
So the plan from INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is to target young players under the age of 25 who are showing considerable potential, whilst still able to hold their own right now, something the three main target definitely fit the bill with.
Transfer News Live on X have announced that their sources from Football Insider have identified the three key players that Ratcliffe wants to be securing the defence at Old Trafford next season.
Firstly, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite. Branthwaite has been the man in form this season, helping the Toffees climb from the relegation zone this season, securing a 15th place finish. The 21-year-old made 41 appearance across all competitions, also managing to grab three goals in the Premier League, two of which secured a draw for his team and a point on the table.
It’s been reported that Everton are valuing their prized centre-back at between £60 million to £70 million, however the club need to sell on one of their big money assets by the end of June to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which may work in United’s favour.
The second target is Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo who has been lighting up Ligue 1. After a trial with United at the age of 17, this is the second time that the Red Devils are looking at bringing the now 24-year-old to Old Trafford, with the defender already confirming that talks with he club have been had.
Todibo is already well known to the bosses at United, with INEOS also owning Nice which has offered some potential complications with both clubs securing a Europa League place, however UEFA have since come forward to allow both clubs to compete in the same European competition.
The third target is Juventus’ Gleison Bremer. Although older than United’s rumoured target transfer policy age of 25, the 27-year-old has been a key player for Juve since arriving in 2022 from Torino for €46.9 million.
Having made 83 appearances for the Old Lady across all competitions, Bremer has managed to also get on the score sheet eight times, with seven coming in Serie A and vital goal against Lazio in the 2022/23 Italy Cup, a goal which took them through the Quarter Finals, unfortunately being knocked out by Inter in the Semi Finals.
This season however, the Brazilian centre-back has been a core part of the squad that beat Atalanta 1-0 in the final, leading Juventus to lift the trophy, securing Bremer his first piece of silverware.
With these three targets at the heart of United’s plans, it’s clear that the back line next season could look very different at Old Trafford.
