Why Manchester United have upper-hand over Premier League club in pursuit of £45m captain | OneFootball

Manchester United are hot in pursuit of a dynamic centre-half to fill the void of Raphael Varane’s absence.

As such, the Red Devils have entered the summer window being linked to numerous options and even saw an opening £35 million bid for Jarrad Branthwaite rejected on June 14, showing INEOS’ desire to get the wheels in motion from the offset.

It’s thought that United will return for the 21-year-old in the coming week, although if they fail to meet Everton’s £70m+ valuation, they can kiss goodbye to the prospect of Branthwaite swapping Merseyside for Manchester this time around.

Elsewhere on INEOS’ shortlist are Marc Guehi, Matthijs de Ligt and, more recently, Max Kilman of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who is thought to be available for around £45m.

Read more: Agreement ‘reached on everything’ between United and league-winners for £90k-a-week player’s exit

Lopetegui eyes Kilman reunion

West Ham United are also hot in pursuit of the Wolves skipper, with Julen Lopetegui spearheading their interest in hopes of reuniting with Kilman before commencing his tenure with the Irons in 2024/2025.

However, their attempts are unlikely to come to fruition unless the Molineux outfit lower their price tag, which is set to price West Ham out of a move.