MANCHESTER UNITED are hoping to gain an advantage in the pursuit of Jarrad Branthwaite once Jason Wilcox arrives.

Wilcox will become United’s new transfer guru, and the club is optimistic of negotiating a compensation arrangement with Southampton, where he has previously served as football director, within the next few days.

Jarrad Branthwaite has been linked with a move to Manchester United.

And they feel his past tight working connection with Branthwaite’s agent, David Reeves, will put them in a strong position to sign Everton’s highly rated centre back.

United hope to make the 21-year-old one of their key players during Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s rebuilding.

A sum of more than £80 million has been discussed, but United need to strengthen their defence.

Branthwaite has been Everton’s shining light during a horrible season, and he was picked to England’s team for last month’s Wembley friendly against Brazil and Belgium.

Branthwaite did not make his Three Lions debut after being placed on the bench.

However, the centre-back is often regarded as the future of England’s defence.

According to recent sources, United is preparing a bid since Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire’s futures remain uncertain.

Both players are out of contract in 2025, with Varane attracting interest from Saudi clubs.

Maguire has the option to extend his contract until 2026.

But West Ham are ready to entice him to London with the promise of first-team action.

Play video.

And, with new United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe eager to trim the fat, both players could be traded to make way for new faces.

Branthwaite, who has already impressed on loan at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, would undoubtedly be a suitable candidate.

Casino Special – The Best Casino Welcome Offers

He has made 28 appearances for the team in what has been a tumultuous season.

The centre back scored his first goal for the club, a dramatic late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham.

Tuchel demonstrated why he could be the ideal candidate for Manchester United, argues Andy Dillon.

By Andy Dillon.

TOMMY TUCHEL could hardly have done better if he had submitted his resume to LinkedIn or Indeed.

Somehow mustering some gumption from the poorest Bayern Munich team in more than a decade to stop a rampant Arsenal dead in their tracks is a fantastic job advertisement for a manager who will soon be searching for work.

If Sir Jim Ratcliffe wasn’t watching from his Old Trafford office or a movie room in one of his tax havens, he ought to have been.

They may have even sat up and paid attention in Newcastle or at the owners’ Riyadh headquarters as Tuchel reminded everyone of his credentials as a top-level coach with wicked timing.

If change is on the horizon, Tuchel has a trump card.

His team showed up and defeated the current Premier League champions of England.

It may only add to Tuchel’s concerns that, despite losing the only league simpler to win than Scotland’s or Spain’s, Munich has risen to prominence in Europe.

After 11 years unchallenged as German champions, Chelsea’s former manager has thrown it away at home in an astonishing display of incompetence. But freak years can occur.

Tuchel is an enigma. But that is part of the appeal, as is winning the Champions League with Chelsea just three months after taking the job.

With no new signings, he transformed a club that had lost five of its previous ten games into European champions.

With Ratcliffe pondering drastic budget cuts at Old Trafford, a coach who can work marvels on a shoestring would be music to his ears.