Sean Dyche addressed Jarrad Branthwaite future amid reported Manchester United transfer interest

Everton boss Sean Dyche has already addressed the future of Jarrad Branthwaite as interest from Manchester United and Real Madrid mounts ahead of the summer.

Branthwaite, 21, has emerged as a starter for The Toffees this term after a successful spell on loan at Feyenoord last season.

The centre-back has played 17 Premier League games so far this campaign for Sean Dyche’s side and excelled throughout.

He has formed an impressive partnership with James Tarkowski at the back for Everton, who have six clean sheets this term.

Meanwhile, United have only conceded one less than Everton in the league and shipped a staggering 15 goals in their six Champions League group games before being knocked out.

The defence at Old Trafford has been extremely unstable with Lisandro Martinez out of action. Erik ten Hag has needed to use more than 10 different defensive partnerships so far this season and will almost definitely be searching for top-quality defenders after the season ends.

Branthwaite has been placed on a four-man shortlist at Old Trafford as a primary option, and the defender fits the kind of profile that new sporting leadership INEOS are looking for. Real Madrid are also reportedly interested in his signature, however.

Dyche was asked about the reported interest several weeks ago and remains calm about the prospect that the defender could move on next summer, suggesting that he does ‘not want to get in the way’ of the England U21 international’s progress.

“Look, we’ve all seen this before,” Dyche told reporters. “A young player comes into the Premier League, does great and then all these stories start. It is a standard process so I am not worried about that.

“He does continue to improve but I will remind you there is no gold dust from me or my staff. We do not want to get in the way of the improvement.

“He is coming along at a really nice rate. You can coach things into players they do not need. For me, it is just to keep on enjoying it.”