Man United make a second bid for Everton star defender worth £50m as Old Trafford club look to wrap up FOUR signings

Man United make a second bid for Everton star defender worth £50m as Old Trafford club look to wrap up FOUR signings

Everton rejected Manchester Unted’s opening bid of £35m last month and are known to want closer to £70m for the 22-year-old defender.

Though United is willing to offer Branthwaite a long-term deal at £160,000 per week, they are hoping that the higher offer would force their Premier League opponents to the bargaining table.

Jarrad Branthwaite (photo by Getty images)

Mail Sport had originally reported that United will be hosting a recruitment meeting on Monday to talk about potential moves for Joshua Zirkzee of Bologna and Matthijs de Ligt, the defender for Bayern Munich, as well as a potential new bid for Branthwaite.

It’s believed that United and Bayern are nearing a deal worth £43 million for De Ligt, while Zirkzee has a £34 million buyout clause in Italy.

A defensive midfielder, such as Manuel Ugarte of Paris Saint-Germain, is the club’s other top goal for the summer transfer window.

It’s believed that Greenwood is close to ending his controversial United career after Marseille made a £27m bid with the offer of a significant sell-on clause.

Greenwood held talks with United officials at Carrington on Monday but did not train with his teammates on the first day of pre-season.

The 22-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Getafe, has been told he has no future at Old Trafford despite charges of attempted rape and assault against him being dropped last year.

Marseille have moved ahead of Lazio, Atletico Madrid and Valencia in the race to sign Greenwood with talks at an advanced stage.

Manager Erik ten Hag is looking to strengthen his defence ahead of the new season.

United are ready to accept a fee of £450,000 for a player who cost £35m from Ajax four years ago, although the deal would include add-ons up to £16m as well as a sell-on clause