Sir Jim Ratcliffe will reportedly prioritise fixing Manchester United’s misfiring defence with two statement signings during the Ineos chief’s first transfer window with the club.
The Red Devils have not be able to field a settled centre-back pairing this season, with Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez, Jonny Evans and more recently Willy Kambwala all in and out of the line-up this season.
With the futures of Maguire, Varane and Evans all in question this summer, the club are set to undergo significant changes at the back.
As per Teamtalk, the Daily Mirror report that Ratcliffe’s top target this summer will be Everton’s breakout star Jarrad Branthwaite. The 21-year-old England international is said to have a £75million price tag on his head, with Everton’s financial issues meaning a sale is likely. Ratcliffe is said to be willing to meet that asking price.
A second, more experienced defender is also being heavily linked. Juventus and Brazil centre-back Gleison Bremer has been one of the best defenders in Serie A in recent years and the 27-year-old has a reported €60million (£50million) release clause next summer.
Il Corriere dello Sport claim that the club could be willing to do a deal at that price this summer, with the club already having identified a potential replacement in Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori.
This £125million double signing would go a long way to improving the Red Devils defence and would be an early statement of intent from Ratcliffe following his minority purchase of the club earlier this year.
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