- Jarrad Branthwaite has been a transfer target for Manchester United recently
- The £70million-rated defender has only made three league appearances
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Sean Dyche has admitted he’d be powerless to stop star defender Jarrad Branthwaite joining Manchester United in January unless Dan Friedkin completes his takeover at Goodison Park.
Dyche’s time at financially stricken Everton has been affected by the sale of key assets Anthony Gordon, Alex Iwobi and Amadou Onana and £70million interest from United in 22-year-old Branthwaite will be stepped up without Farhad Mashiri’s sale being completed.
‘Bids for players will not be anything to do with me. You know, or can imagine, the financial situation here,’ said Dyche candidly.
‘We have already had to sell players here I didn’t want to. That is just part of the current business of the club.
‘The current decision would be that it is likely if somebody offers enough money for any player – then they go.
‘Alex Iwobi was like that a day or so before the deadline. I didn’t want to lose him but they said “look, this a deal we’ve got to do. That’s the way it goes so I thought I better work towards the next lot of players I could get in and use.’
Everton were docked points last season for breaches of Premier League financial rules. With Friedkin in advanced talks to take over, Dyche isn’t sure how new ownership would alter the likelihood of sales.
‘I don’t know – that is something you will have to ask them if they come in,’ he said.
‘I haven’t met them, I don’t know any of their plans, thoughts or feelings about the club or finances, so that would clearly be a new decision.
‘Jarrad’s valuation, like every single player, it’s a bit like selling your house. We used to all have a go and say “that looks about right” but who knows now?’
Branthwaite has started only once this season following groin surgery but pressure is growing on Dyche to recall him against West Ham on Saturday after Everton’s five-game unbeaten run ended at Southampton last weekend.
The defender has made brief substitute appearances in Everton’s last two games but Dyche is aware that after his first comeback against Crystal Palace on September 28 when he played 90 minutes, Branthwaite developed a quad complaint and missed another month.
‘It’s about making sure his fitness is definitely rather than maybe because I thought he may be fit enough the last time, and he came out and got injured. said Dyche.
‘I was the one saying (before Palace) I don’t think he’s right to play, let’s leave it another week, but everyone felt “No, we should.”
‘I thought it was a bit early but the consensus was he’s right to play. Some players, you can’t explain every single detail of an injury, but some are more delicate than others. You have to be really careful. If the approach goes too far, in a split-second you affect someone for three or four weeks.
‘Sometimes in football management the hardest decision is to not play someone when everyone is saying you should.’
