Liverpool and Man Utd ‘on trail’ of Everton defender after £15m bid was rejected in January | OneFootball

Liverpool and Man Utd are reportedly both interested in signing Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who is currently on loan at PSV Eindhoven.

The defender joined Everton in 2020 from Football League side Carlisle United. He has played 13 times for the Toffees since making the move to the Premier League outfit.

Branthwaite had a loan spell at Blackburn Rovers during the 2020/21 campaign and he joined PSV on loan ahead of this season.

The 20-year-old has overcome a difficult start to the 2022/23 campaign and he is now performing well for the Eredivisie outfit.

His form has seemingly caught the eye of Everton’s rivals. The Daily Mail are reporting that Liverpool and Man Utd have both ‘sent scouts’ to watch the centre-back. They are not alone though as Jose Mourinho’s Roma are also tracking him.

This comes after PSV had ‘two bids’ rejected for Branthwaite during the winter transfer window. It is understood that their second offer was worth around £15m.

Liverpool and Man Utd are ‘on his trail’ but he has a strong affinity with PSV as ex-Everton sporting director Marcel Brands is now with the Dutch side. The 60-year-old played a key role as the Toffees signed Branthwaite in 2020.

Branthwaite has explained that his “relationship” with Brands was the main reason behind his decision to sign for PSV last summer.

“There were other options but this stood out due to the relationship I and the club have with Marcel,” Branthwaite told The Athletic.

“Speaking to people at Everton, they liked the sound of the move as well.

“My options were still open at the start but PSV wanted me more and more. The conversations I had with PSV, Marcel, Everton and my agent made me more confident that it was the right move.”

On Brands, he continued: “He’s really good. He signed me from Carlisle, which was a big move for me. He was always on the phone to my agent at the time, trying to get the deal done.

“When I first joined he helped me massively and there’s been a good connection between him and me, my family and my agent ever since. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

He later suggested that he “could have gone to the Championship” instead but he wanted to test himself with a “different challenge”.

“I could have gone to the Championship, but I just fancied a different challenge. It’s (the Eredivisie) a really tough league but Everton wanted this move as well and it’s a big league with a big team,” Branthwaite added.

“There are massive games, like the one against Feyenoord, which are exciting as a player.”