Jarrad Branthwaite tops Christmas list despite need for sales

Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite continues to pique the interest of Manchester United’s board and more talks have been held in recent weeks about the feasibility of making a January move for the centre back.

While new boss Ruben Amorim will be operating with a significantly more restrictive transfer budget moving forward, Branthwaite is a player that has plenty of admirers at Ineos and on United’s football board – and sources have indicated a degree of urgency around his situation given the level of interest from rival teams.

United saw bids of £35million and £45m, plus £5m in add-ons, rejected for Branthwaite in the summer but it is understood that that has not seen interest diminish and talks have been held internally to co-ordinate their next approach.

During the summer Lille’s Leny Yoro signed for £52.2m, and Matthijs de Ligt was bought from Bayern Munich for £38.5m plus £4.2m in add-ons, bolstering centre back options significantly.

But 22-year-old Branthwaite continues to be seen as a high-potential player that can be a key future piece of the puzzle alongside Yoro in Amorim’s back three moving forward.

The fundamental issue facing United is the need to sell players in order to generate necessary funds to consider buying new ones.

Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof are both out of contract at the end of the season while Harry Maguire has a 12-month extension option on his deal, which is set to see his contract run until 2026.

Sources have stressed that United must sell to help finance any move for Branthwaite and ideally money is generated from centre back sales, which makes the handling of Maguire’s deal moving forward an area of interest.

An alternative would be funds raised by moving Antony on, who has struggled badly since his £82m move across from Ajax.

Over the past three seasons United have posted losses before tax of £312.9m and Ineos and the footballing board must continue to be creative to improve on-pitch performance while reducing costs to ensure they comply with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules and UEFA’s financial sustainability regulations.

Following well-documented interest from United over the summer, Branthwaite has since refused to sign a new contract at Goodison Park with Everton having held firm to their £70m valuation for the player.

He still has three years left on his current deal, understood to be worth around £70,000-a-week, but boss Sean Dyche recently admitted he is powerless to keeping his star defender if the right offer arrives.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth is a driving force behind interest in Branthwaite but with the January window now only six weeks away, generating the capital to deliver Amorim one of the league’s most talented young defenders remains a head-scratcher.

United in agent dispute over Axel

Manchester United are embroiled in a legal dispute with an agent over unpaid fees relating to Ipswich Town defender Axel Tuanzebe.

Confidential has learned that United have received legal letters demanding payment from an FA-licensed intermediary claiming to have helped broker Tuanzebe’s loan move from Old Trafford to Stoke City in January 2023.

United are refusing to pay and consider the claims baseless. The agent is understood to have reported the matter to the FA citing an alleged breach of their Football Agent Regulations.

United have also received complaints from a different agent claiming they were owed money for facilitating Eric Bailly’s free transfer to Besiktas in September 2023, although that matter has now been resolved without any payments being made. The Ivory Coast international spent just four months in Turkey before joining Villarreal on a free transfer the following January.

Tuanzebe’s spell at Stoke was similarly brief, with the 27-year-old making just four appearances for them before joining Ipswich on a permanent deal during the 2023 summer window, but the earlier loan move has been a recurrent source of aggravation for United.

The club have received several legal letters demanding payment of the disputed fees from the agent, who claims to have been given reassurances by United’s Director of Football Negotiations, Matt Hargreaves, and former Football Director, John Murtough, that he would be paid.

Murtough left United last April following the appointment of Ashworth as sporting director, but Hargreaves remains at Old Trafford.

United are understood to have investigated the agent’s claims for payment and found no evidence he was involved in Tuanzebe’s transfer. Confidential has been told that he was not copied into any emails sent to or from Stoke City about Tuanzebe, and did not send any emails to United in connection with the loan.

United are adamant that no agreement was made with the agent and that he has failed to provide any evidence to support his claims. The intermediary registered with the FA as having worked on the deal is Phil Smith, of First Artist Mission, who is one of the most experienced agents in the industry.

United insist they are comfortable with how the club acted throughout the transaction and will defend any legal claim brought by the disgruntled agent. All United’s other payments that are contractually owed to agents are up to date after the Bailly dispute was settled amicably.

A United source pointed out that the complaints from the two agents are isolated cases in a huge transfer operation, which involves the club paying dozens of agents each year for their work in assisting the buying, selling and loaning of players. It is not unusual for agents who may have had a peripheral role in transfer negotiations to attempt to insert themselves into deals and then demand a payment from clubs.

The FA regulate the payment of agent fees relating to transfers involving clubs in this country on behalf of FIFA. In order to be paid agents need to enter into a formal representation contract with a player or sign a mandate from a club before the transfer takes place.

Put your hand in your pocket, Jim!

The Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have been urged to invest their own money into the potential £2billion new stadium amid fears season-ticket prices will be hiked to help cover the cost.

United are thought to prefer demolishing Old Trafford and replacing it with a brand-new 100,000-seat arena but there are concerns among supporters over how the project will be financed.

The club have increased season-ticket prices for the past two seasons having previously been frozen for 11 years and another rise could be on the cards should United proceed with a new stadium or if they instead opt to redevelop Old Trafford.

And the Manchester United Supporters Trust have told the owners that any stadium improvements ‘should not be funded by big ticket increases on ordinary match-going reds’, while suggesting they ‘issue new shares to allow others – including fans – to invest’.

‘Everyone agrees Old Trafford needs updating but the big question is how that is funded,’ a spokesperson told Confidential. ‘Other clubs have funded stadium work through debt, but due to the existing huge debt burden the Glazers have placed on United, that option is not open to us.

‘This is an investment project so should be funded by capital, not ticket prices. We believe the owners should either invest themselves or issue new shares to allow others – including fans – to invest to make this happen. Stadium improvements should not be funded by big ticket increases on ordinary match-going reds.’

Patience is the key for Malacia

It was heartening to see Tyrell Malacia make his footballing comeback in the EFL Trophy at Huddersfield last week, with Confidential one of only a few reporters in attendance for the full-back’s first appearance in just under 18 months.

But as one first team source put it after Malacia came off after getting 45 minutes under his belt, patience is a virtue now when it comes to the Dutchman.

‘He looked good but it’s going to take him time, he was out for so long,’ the source said. ‘We need to be patient with him.’

His injury hell saw him undergo two surgeries in a bid to rectify a persistent knee problem and United, who had four members of the medical team in the directors’ box at Huddersfield to celebrate Malacia’s return, are eager not to ask for too much too soon.

Malacia was able to be involved in Amorim’s first two training sessions on Monday and Tuesday which is a good sign but building up the 25-year-old bit by bit is the plan rather than chucking him in at the deep end, despite United’s depth problem at left back.

Amorim mania hits Ipswich

The clamour to witness Amorim’s first game in charge of Manchester United has seen Ipswich Town overwhelmed with media quests from every corner of the globe.

Portman Road is a fabulous ground but seating for media is not endless and Confidential understands that media interest in Sunday’s game has already far exceeded the number of requests for their first game back in the Premier League when they faced Liverpool.

Journalists from Portugal are expected to descend on Suffolk en masse to catch a glimpse of Amorim in his new role, while there has also been a flurry among international broadcasters to have crews on their ground for one of the biggest stories of the season to date so far.

It should prove a tight squeeze…

Players rush to see Ruben

Amorim has come face to face with several of his Manchester United stars a little sooner than he expected due to their mixed fortunes on international duty.

Captain Bruno Fernandes was released early from Portugal’s camp after scoring in a 5-1 win over Poland on Friday that guaranteed they would finish top of their Nations League group.

Manager Roberto Martinez gave Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Pedro Neto permission to return to their clubs and miss Monday’s game against Croatia.

Lisandro Martinez has also returned from international duty early after he was ruled out of Argentina’s games against Paraguay and Peru with an injury to his back and hip sustained in United’s win over Leicester last time out.

Although Martinez had been cleared to stay in South America to see his family, he preferred to travel back to Carrington at the earliest opportunity to meet Amorim and have the injury assessed.

Victor Lindelof also made an early return to the training ground after sustaining a groin injury in Sweden’s Nations League tie against Slovakia which ruled him out of the next game against Azerbaijan. Having missed the start of the season with a toe injury, Lindelof now appears to be set for another lay-off.

In his first few days at United, Amorim was introduced to the first-teamers who weren’t on international duty including Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Leny Yoro, and has admitted that he may only have a couple of training sessions with the full squad before his first game at Ipswich.

Toone receives apology in commentary row

Confidential can now reveal that Manchester United and Lionesses star Ella Toone has received an apology from the commentator at the centre of a storm which saw him say that the attacker had a ‘face like a smacked bum’.

First reported in this column two weeks ago that the clip, from the home match against Arsenal, was under investigation, it can now be revealed that bosses at the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), as well as the commentator, have apologised to both Toone and United.

Sources spoke glowingly of WPLL CEO Nikki Doucet for her urgency in addressing the matter and ensuring there was a smooth process in rectifying, particularly with the matter gaining further scrutiny when highlighted by Ian Wright and former England captain Steph Houghton on their ‘Crossways’ podcast.

The league’s top brass took a dim view of the remark made at Toone’s expense when she was taken off in the 61st minute and replaced by Melvine Malard with United losing 1-0.

The commentary, made on an alternative feed to the BBC’s own dedicated live coverage, quickly got picked up on social media and following an investigation, as well as Toone’s acceptance of the apology, the case is now considered closed.

Ruben rolls back the years

Amorim has been catching up on Manchester United’s history during his first week in England, taking a tour of Old Trafford and the club museum ahead of his first game against Ipswich on Sunday.

But the new United boss might not be aware that it’s 22-and-a-half years since the two clubs last met in the Premier League when United won 1-0 at Portman Road with a penalty just before half-time.

The scorer? Ruud van Nistelrooy, the man who filled in as interim manager for the last four games before leaving Old Trafford after Amorim decided against keeping the Dutchman as part of his backroom team.

In fact, Amorim was still 20 months away from making his senior debut for Belenenses as an 18-year-old when United and Ipswich last played in the top-flight in April 2002.

The two clubs have only met once since then, in a League Cup tie at Old Trafford in 2015 when Wayne Rooney, Andreas Perreira and Antony Martial scored in a 3-0 win.

It’s a girl!

A lovely moment at the end of one of the women’s team’s training sessions this week when everyone came together to help England and United defender Hannah Blundell with a unique gender reveal.

Blundell, who is married to Cheltenham Town midfielder Tom Pett, gathered her team-mates together before throwing a ball to Millie Turner, who kicked it to reveal a puff of pink smoke.

‘Our little baby girl will be with us soon,’ Pett wrote on his Instagram page.

Congratulations to Pett and Blundell on their expected arrival.

£30k raised for sleep-out

Finally, last week we made a note of United’s third ‘Stadium Sleep Out’ and can now reflect on it raising more than £30,000 for charity.

More than 120 people – which included former United players David May and Danny Simpson – braved the cold to spend a night sleeping under the stars at Old Trafford.

‘I feel like homelessness is a problem that is getting worse, and you see it all over the city,’ Simpson said.

‘I’m a local boy, so it means something to me to try and help my community in any way I can. I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact the Foundation has and it’s been great to hear about the work Centrepoint is doing – it’s been a really positive night.’

Money raised so far will go on to help the Manchester United Foundation along with youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint.

Contributor: Matt Hughes