According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United and Liverpool are monitoring the progress of reported Sheffield Wednesday target Jarrad Branthwaite.
The talented defender joined Everton from Carlisle United for a £750,000 fee.
After impressing for the Toffees U23s, the next step in his development was to spend time out on loan with Championship clubs vying to sign him in January.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Wednesday were among those keen to bring him in but they were ultimately beaten to his signature by playoff-chasing Blackburn Rovers.
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Branthwaite has since made seven Championship starts for Blackburn, with Tony Mowbray’s side slipping away from the top six after losing three of their last four games.
But Branthwaite’s decent performances haven’t gone unnoticed. The Daily Mail claim United and Liverpool are keen, while Everton are delighted with his progress.
The 18-year-old left-sided central defender is an England U19 international. Standing at 6ft 5inch, he has plenty of physicality to go with his impressive ability on the ball.
Wednesday may have had one eye on Branthwaite as a possible option for next season too.
The Owls will have to make strengthening their defence a top priority in the summer as both Tom Lees and Joost van Aken are out of contract at the end of the season.
Dominic Iorfa suffered an ACL injury and is likely to miss the best part of 2021, while Julian Borner has fallen out of favour making just one league start since early December.
Also see: Defender Monk tried to sign for Owls in 2020 draws comparison to £20m PL title-winner
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