As Manchester City have been linked with a move for Jarrad Branthwaite, a certain Ruud van Nistelrooy once lavished praise upon him.
The Dutch legend spoke about the 21-year-old (via Manchester Evening News) during his season-long loan at PSV Eindhoven.
It’s safe to say that Ruud van Nistelrooy saw something special in Jarrad Branthwaite, who Manchester City were reported to be ‘keeping an eye’ on according to a report on Tuesday.
What Ruud van Nistelrooy said about Manchester City-linked defender Jarrad Branthwaite
It was also revealed that the Everton centre-back is on Manchester United’s radar as a potential addition in the January window.
Despite the Toffees’ struggles so far this season, the youngster has been hailed for his performances in the centre of defence.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who managed Manchester City-linked gem Jarrad Branthwaite for a season at PSV Eindhoven explained why he is such a gifted prospect.
“He is a great talent”, he said.
“The boy is young, but he has a future. He is good on the ball, can play on the left or the right of centre-back because he is two-footed. He has height and speed, so he is very complete.”
It seems unlikely that Manchester City will make a move for him
While Ruud van Nistelrooy is bang on the money, one cannot foresee Manchester City advancing in the pursuit to sign the Everton centre-back.
Looking at their current roster of central defenders, unlike one of them is set to leave in the summer, the Englishman would have little to no chance of displacing any of the players in question.
To add to that, if Everton manage to survive at the end of the campaign, they would likely demand a sizable fee for the highly-rated centre-half.
Considering the treble-winners have bigger priority positions to address such as in midfield and potentially even at left-back, it seems improbable that they will turn their attention towards Branthwaite.
