Andy Gray would sell Everton ace Jarrad Branthwaite now after what he’s been told by Richard Keys
Andy Gray would “reluctantly” sell Jarrad Branthwaite if a club offered £85million for the centre-back.
Branthwaite has been linked with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City after a superb breakthrough campaign at Everton this term.
iNews reported this week that Everton could hold out for as much as £100m for Branthwaite across the next couple of transfer windows.
Speaking ahead of Everton’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham on beIN Sports [23 December, 14:41pm], Richard Keys said: “He’s not quite at the centre of a tug of war, but he may well soon be.
“They’ve put an £85million price tag on him. Would you sell him?”
Co-host Gray replied: “Reluctantly, yes. Reluctantly. I don’t think we’re in a position at Everton to turn down something like £85m, especially when we’ve got Ben Godfrey, Michael Keane, James Tarkowski – good alternatives.
“It would be very difficult for Everton to turn down right now. I think they’d have to accept it if it’s something like £85m. You can’t say no to that.”
Whether it is £100m or £85m, that is a serious amount of money should an offer of that size come in for Branthwaite.
It would be easy to say the club should dismiss it, as a large part of that would have to be reinvested in finding a replacement.
Everton undoubtedly have a gem on their hands in Branthwaite, and there is serious hope that he is only going to get better.
The good news for the Toffees is that the 21-year-old only recently signed a contract that ties him down to the club until June 2027.
That means Everton do not need to sell over the next few windows, as he will still retain that massive valuation come, say, June 2025.
There is always a risk Branthwaite will drop off, but that does not look like happening. On the face of it, it will surely be a case of ‘thanks, but no thanks’ if an offer is tabled in January.
