“I know Chelsea wants him” “I hope it won’t work” – Club boss reveals he’s not surprised Chelsea wants £80M star
Sean Dyche has acknowledged that he is not shocked to see Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite being connected with rival Premier League teams, with reports claiming that Chelsea is still interested in a deal for the star.
Branthwaite emerged as a major target for both United and Chelsea this summer following an outstanding Premier League season in which the centre-back nearly made England’s final 26-man roster for Euro 2024.
And Dyche insisted that Branthwaite is still happy at the club, but is not surprised that both clubs are still interested in a potential deal – he said: ‘I think I said in the summer that any player, it’s a global market now, it’s not just about one player,’ he said at a press conference on Thursday.
‘The way the game changed, certainly in Europe, the transfer situation has opened up. It’s not a surprise good players are linked with other clubs. I said in the summer he’ll be staying here and he is so that’s good.’
Asked about how the pending takeover could affect the sale of Branthwaite, Dyche replied: ‘The club has a situation it is still looking upon. If new ownership goes through, that might change things financially but we don’t know that yet. We’ll just have to wait and see.
‘I didn’t really speak to him about it [interest from United in the summer], he’s still here. I’m not going to sit there and chat endlessly about stories in the paper which 99 per cent are not true so there’s no point.
‘He seems fine other than being injured, which has been a blow to him, he’s been fine.’