Latest United Branthwaite bid rejected by Everton

That United have returned to try and prise the 21-year-old star from Everton is a move that will have surprised no one.

It is clear they want the player and while their first bid was around £35 million and was summarily rejected by the Blues, we all knew that was probably not the end of the saga.

And last night they have apparently came back with a fresh offer of £45 million rising to 50 for Branthwaite and once again the Toffees have rebuffed their advances for the 'Carlise Kaiser'.

This is an interesting situation now as clearly at the beginning of the summer, United no doubt thought they could bully Everton into letting Branthwaite go for below his market value, given the club's serious financial problems.

Last season had seen those problems lead to two separate points deductions for breaching PSR and an ongoing controversy that very nearly cost the Blues their Premier League status.

There is still the prospect of another points deduction next season, although that is a complicated scenario and far from certain at the moment.

Part of the reason for the unusual amount of optimism at Goodison Park over that potential third PSR breach, is because the Toffees were able to sell two players for a combined amount of around £20 million when Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey left for Aston Villa and Atalanta, respectively.

That income considerably eased Everton's financial worries and it is believed could be enough for the club to successfully avoid breaching PSR again.

So now, the Blues are able to bat away offers for their prized central defender and remain it seems determined to get the full market value for the player, if they do decide to sell.

In addition, there are likely to be bids for other Toffees stars such as Amadou Onana and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and selling one or other - or possibly both - would raise considerable further funds.

Everton could live without either of these two (although I think Calvert-Lewin in particular would need to be replaced) but it will be very difficult to find someone to step in and replicate Branthwaite's consistent excellence at the heart of the defence and his strong understanding with James Tarkowski.

Looking at this situation though, I don't think we have seen the last of it and I expect United will try again, although they may decide to cut their losses and look elsewhere as they are linked with an increasing number of centre-backs.