Manchester United are reportedly ‘set to firm up their interest’ in Juventus star Gleison Bremer, who is greatly admired by the club’s prospective new sporting director, Dan Ashworth.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made signing a new top-quality centre-back one of his priorities for the summer and the Red Devils have several exciting options on their shortlist.

As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite is among the club’s top targets but he has a price tag of £80m and they are facing competition from Real Madrid.
As a result, Man Utd may be forced into signing an alternative and Ashworth reportedly believes that Bremer would be an excellent addition.
The 27-year-old has made 28 Serie A appearances for Juventus this season, scoring two goals and helping his team to an impressive 13 clean sheets in the process.
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Bremer, a three-time capped Brazil international, makes an average of 1.9 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game and ranks in the top 10% for aerial duels won in the entire Serie A.
Those attributes would make him a good addition to any team so it’s no surprise to see Man Utd considering a move for him.
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Bremer could replace Harry Maguire at Man Utd

According to reports cited by The Mirror, Ashworth has given the green light to a Man Utd move for Bremer.
Ashworth is yet to be installed as Man Utd’s new sporting director but everything points towards him joining the club if they can agree a compensation fee with Newcastle.
Bremer is thought to have a £43m release clause in his Juventus contract which is ‘unlikely to be viewed as excessive’ and much cheaper than the fee the Red Devils would have to pay for their top target, Branthwaite.
Ratcliffe has already ‘expressed a desire to move away from the habit of spending huge amounts of money on ageing players’ so the Juve star certainly fits the bill.
Bremer could be brought in to replace Harry Maguire, whose future is once again under the spotlight amid renewed interest from West Ham.
The futures of Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof are also uncertain, so Man Utd may need to bring in more than one new defender.

Bremer has also been linked with Chelsea in recent weeks, so they may compete with the Red Devils for the Brazilian’s signature.
The talented centre-back is certainly a player for United fans to
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Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite is one of the most in-demand young players in the world at the moment, with Manchester United among those chasing his signature.
The 21-year-old defender has come on leaps and bounds under Sean Dyche and has formed a formidable centre-back partnership with James Tarkowski.
Branthwaite is a key reason why Everton have the joint-fourth-best defensive record in the Premier League and top clubs are set to try and poach him this summer.
Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made signing a new young centre-back his priority and has identified Branthwaite as his top target.
READ MORE: Barcelona offer Everton four players in swap deal for £80m star to kill Man Utd transfer hopes
Along with the Red Devils, Chelsea, Tottenham and even Everton’s bitter rivals Liverpool are thought to be admirers of the defender, who has just received his first call-up to the England first team.
The Toffees certainly won’t let their star man leave on the cheap, however, and TEAMtalk understands that they’ll demand a minimum of £80m for him.

Real Madrid to rival Man Utd for Jarrad Branthwaite

Man Utd now face new competition for Branthwaite in the form of LaLiga giants Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti knows Branthwaite well from his time as Everton manager and now, GIVEMESPORT say that Real Madrid’s interest in the centre-back is ‘genuine.’
During his time at Goodison Park, Ancelotti predicted that Branthwaite would become a top player. “I am really happy with him, he is really young, a kid. But he showed quality, personality and character.
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I'm pretty sure with estrogen,

“He is really calm with the ball, really comfortable, and really aggressive without the ball.”
Evertonians will no doubt be furious that their former manager is trying to sign their best player in Branthwaite, who may end up being the key reason why they avoid relegation.
READ MORE: Mason Greenwood: Man Utd torch forward’s transfer plans with risky new decision made
Los Blancos are keen to bring in competition for Eder Militao and David Alaba, who have had their respective seasons ended after suffering serious knee injuries.
The report notes that Everton are in a ‘strong negotiating position’ given Branthwaite only signed a new contract in October last year.
The Toffees may be forced into selling players this summer due to their ongoing financial issues but they will still demand at least £80m for the talented youngster.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how high the likes of Man Utd and Real Madrid are willing to go when bidding for Branthwaite.
If he keeps improving as he has this season and reaches his sky-high potential, he will be worth every penny.
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Tottenham to rival West Ham for classy Nottingham Forest star as financial woes force Nuno into sale

Tottenham and West Ham are reportedly interested in signing Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White this summer. 
The 24-year-old made the switch from Wolves to the City Ground for £35m (including add-ons) – which at the time was a club-record fee for the Tricky Trees.

Gibbs-White is now arguably Nottingham Forest’s best player. He’s made 33 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring four goals and making five assists in the process.
With Nottingham Forest’s Premier League status in doubt after their four-point deduction, several clubs are ready to swoop in for Gibbs-White’s signature.
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It has also been reported by various outlets that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side could face another points deduction next season if they don’t sell several players this summer. Therefore, an exit for Gibbs-White could be on the cards.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Newcastle have registered an interest in signing the dynamic player to provide competition for their other attacking players.
However, it now seems that Tottenham and West Ham are set to join the race.
Related video: Nottingham Forest: Club could face further Premier League point deduction if £30m of player sales... (Dailymotion)

Tottenham to bring in competition for James Maddison

According to talkSPORT, Spurs and the Hammers are poised to capitalise on Nottingham Forest’s financial woes by making a move for Gibbs-White this summer.
The former England under-21 international is described as Forest’s ‘most sellable asset’ and a number of clubs from England and around Europe are keeping tabs on him.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has made signing a new attacking midfielder one of his priorities for the summer window as he wants more competition for James Maddison.
As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk, Chelsea star Conor Gallagher is Postecoglou’s top target for the position.
Gallagher has been informed by the Chelsea board that if he does not reduce his wage demands and sign a new contract, he will be sold in the summer. 
Therefore, Spurs could end up getting their top target, leaving West Ham as favourites to snap up Gibbs-White.

READ MORE: Tottenham leapfrog Arsenal in race to sign lethal 164-goal striker after Arteta ‘cools interest’

West Ham want Morgan Gibbs-White to replace Lucas Paqueta

TalkSPORT claim that Hammers boss David Moyes has identified Gibbs-White as the ideal replacement star player Lucas Paqueta, who looks set to leave the London Stadium this summer amid interest from Manchester City.
Paqueta came close to joining the Cityzens last summer only for the move to collapse due to investigations into alleged breaches of the FA’s betting rules.
Man City have been tipped to come back in for the Brazil international this summer, so his sale could give West Ham the funds they need to sign Gibbs-White.
The Nottingham Forest star is reportedly valued at around £50m, while Paqueta looks set to leave for a fee in the region of £80m.
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Marcus Rashford in line to equal Jermain Defoe’s unwanted England record

Holding the record for the most England sub appearances is a curious ‘achievement’. And Marcus Rashford is in line to join Jermain Defoe at the top if he comes off the bench v Brazil and Belgium.
 
10) Emile Heskey (62 apps, 22 as sub)
He’s top of this list of England players who were better for country than club, with Michael Owen his biggest fan as they formed the last great ‘big man, little man’ combination for England. He was phenomenal in that famous 5-1 dismantling of Germany back when nobody dismantled Germany.

He never quite had the same relationship with Wayne Rooney, culminating in the absolute clusterf*** of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The last of Heskey’s 22 appearances off the bench came in that 4-1 defeat to Germany when he replaced the ineffective Jermain Defoe.
 
9) Peter Crouch (42 apps, 23 as sub)
Surely the ultimate ‘offers something different off the bench’ player, he also features high on that ‘better for country than club’ list. For England, the usually goal-shy Crouch bagged 22 times in 42 games – only 19 of them from the start – and was good for a goal every 99 minutes. His 0.52% strike rate is marginally better than Alan Shearer, Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney. 
Actually started the first two games of the 2006 World Cup after that hat-trick v Jamaica but was firmly back on the bench when things got serious. That would become a pattern as he started less than a third of the games for which he was available. His last appearance in 2010 was also marked by his final goal for England; he never quite recovered from being third fiddle behind Andy Carroll and Jay Bothroyd. Who could?
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8) Phil Neville (59 apps, 23 as sub)
Included in three European Championship squads (including the disaster of 2000) but never made it to a World Cup, despite his versatility making him a very useful man to have on the bench.
Played under six England managers, the last of which – Steve McClaren – used him as a sub in three successive 3-0 wins. It’s when he left him on the bench that it all started to go wrong, so there’s a lesson there. Still remains at No. 50 in the England ladder of a website that used to be very good.
 
7) Joe Cole (56 apps, 25 as sub)
Too fancy-dan to be initially trusted by England, 17 of his first 19 caps came off the bench. Was then pretty much first choice for three years that sandwiched the 2006 World Cup, which featured *that* goal v Sweden.
He then once again became a peripheral figure under Fabio Capello and, along with Heskey, made his final England appearance from the bench in that World Cup shoeing by Germany. He later said that England had been let down by a lack of “tactical sophistication” at World Cups, which is probably code for ‘Joe Cole should have played more’.

 
6) Owen Hargreaves (42 apps, 25 as sub)
“The problem I’ve got is that the English public don’t know me,” said Hargreaves after he was repeatedly and ludicrously booed by England fans in the summer of 2006. Thankfully for Jude Bellingham, things have changed in the 18 years since.
Extraordinarily, that was five years into his England career and within another two years – when Hargreaves was just 27 – his England career would be over. Eventually he had won over the sceptical England fans, named England Player of the Year for 2006 just months after he had been roundly booed.
 
5) Kieron Dyer (33 apps, 25 as sub)
A ‘not quite’ player for England, Dyer only twice started back-to-back England games. It probably didn’t help his cause that he literally never scored for England.
Was the first substitute off the bench during that 2002 World Cup defeat to Brazil, which might have been a symptom of that lack of “tactical sophistication” cited by Cole, who stayed on the bench during that game. His final appearance – in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany in which he replaced Alan Smith – saw him make what was then a record 25th sub appearance.

 
4) James Milner (61 apps, 25 as sub)
Retired from England duty in 2016 after playing just a few minutes of that disastrous tournament, bringing an end to a seven-year international career in which he was rarely anything less than useful. Unfortunately for Milner, his peak years came under Roy Hodgson, who gave him a lot of starts but also a lot of sub appearances.
 
3) Jordan Henderson (81 apps, 26 as sub)
The most-capped England player on this list, and you really would not bet against him limping to 100. Has been to six major tournaments and will definitely go to a seventh. Sometimes starts those tournaments on the bench; pretty much always worms his way onto the pitch.
 
2) Marcus Rashford (59 apps, 33 as sub)
Been to four international tournaments but never been a first-choice pick, having made the very silly mistake of timing his best form for non-tournament seasons. Came off the bench for Wayne Rooney as England exited Euro 2016 to Iceland, came off the bench for Raheem Sterling as England lost at the 2018 World Cup to Croatia, came off the bench for Henderson to miss a penalty in the Euro 2020 final and came off the bench for Phil Foden as England lost to France at the 2022 World Cup. It’s not a great record.
 
1) Jermain Defoe (57 apps, 35 as sub)
Made his final England sub appearance, replacing Jake Livermore (oh those were dark days), over 13 years after his first sub appearance, when he replaced Darius Vassell. Played under five England managers but was rarely seen as first choice by any. Only seven of his 20 England goals came from the bench, which might have been a compelling argument for more England starts but in reality was a good argument for leaving him on the bench.

Man Utd: Ratcliffe ‘wants’ £129m duo to lead ‘rebuild’ and will ‘carry out an offensive soon’

New Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants Barcelona duo Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde to help lead his ‘rebuild’ at Old Trafford, according to reports.
The British billionaire completed a deal to buy 25 per cent of the Premier League club from the Glazers last month with Ratcliffe now in charge of the football operation as part of the agreement.

Ratcliffe lines up summer transfers at Man Utd

Ratcliffe has already brought in Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO, while he is trying to persuade Newcastle to agree a compensation fee so that Dan Ashworth can become their new sporting director.
Previous reports have also indicated that the new Man Utd co-owner wants Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman as their new head of recruitment and Southampton’s Jason Wilcox as technical director.
Ratcliffe has wasted no time in lining up the staff he wants under him at Man Utd and now he’s looking to solidify some of his transfer targets too for the summer ahead.
The Red Devils have had an underwhelming season under Erik ten Hag with Man Utd finishing bottom of their Champions League group and struggling for consistency in the Premier League.
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And now Spanish publication Nacional has revealed that Ratcliffe is set to go after Barcelona duo De Jong and Balde in the summer in an attempt to revive the Red Devils’ fortunes.
Related video: Why Manchester United Wants Dan Ashworth So Badly (Dailymotion)

Ratcliffe ‘hopes to rebuild’ Man Utd and he ‘wants’ the Barcelona pair to lead that with De Jong the ‘least surprising’ target out of the two.
Barcelona will ‘consider selling’ the Netherlands international in an attempt to raise money for summer transfers and Man Utd will also ‘carry out an offensive soon’ for Balde, who ‘has been one of the disappointments of the current campaign’.
The Catalan giants ‘will ask for more than €150m (£129m)’ for the pair from Man Utd with Balde valued at €60m and De Jong priced at €90m.

Giorgio Scalvini to Man Utd this summer?

Reliable Italian journalist Matteo Moretto has also brought news of Man Utd interest in Atalanta centre-back Giorgio Scalvini.
Moretto wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Recently I was informed that in the past few weeks scouts from Manchester United were present in Italy to watch Atalanta central defender Giorgio Scalvini on multiple occasions. He’s a profile that they like, there are other teams in England that also like him, and Manchester United clearly have a shortlist of various options in terms of central defenders, but Scalvini is on it.


“They have to make a decision on who exactly to go to for, but they like Scalvini and they think he is an important talent. In terms of how much he’ll cost – this is opinion rather than information – I’d estimate at somewhere between €30-40m.”
READ MORE: Marcus Rashford in line to equal Jermain Defoe’s unwanted England record