Unai Emery could be about to hand Manchester United double blow in the summer transfer window


Amadou Onana is closing in on an Everton exit.
The midfielder has agreed on a deal to join Aston Villa for a fee that will be a club-record £50 million. Onana has spent the past two years at Goodison Park, having been recruited from Lille for £33 million. He's made a total of 72 appearances for Everton, scoring four goals and helping avoid Premier League relegation for the past two years.
Yet with three years remaining on his contract, the Toffees have opted to cash in. While Onana has a high ceiling and has been linked with top clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United and Arsenal, he has not been paramount to Sean Dyche's plans. The 22-year-old was overlooked for crucial wins against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford last season which ultimately resulted in Everton surviving another dogfight.
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Hide AdOnana admitted that he wanted to use Euro 2024 as a platform to earn a summer move. The Belgium international has indeed done so as he looks set to join Unai Emery's Villa, who will be in the Champions League in the 2024-25 season after finishing fourth in the Premier League.
Everton will make a healthy profit on Onana, which will boost their position when it comes to the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. It will also boost Dyche's transfer funds that can be reinvested in the squad.
And perhaps importantly, it will strengthen the Blues' position when it comes to Jarrad Branthwaite's future. The centre-back has been highly coveted by Manchester United after a magnificent 2023-24 season. The centre-back made a total of 41 appearances, scoring three goals and forged a fine partnership with James Tarkowski. Branthwaite scooped Everton's Players' Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season, which was much deserved and many believe he was unlucky not to have been included in England's Euro 2024 squad.
Everton have not been pressured into selling Branthwaite. They have rebuffed two bids from United, with the offers below the Blues' valuation of the 22-year-old. Branthwaite has three years remaining on his Goodison deal, with Everton in a strong bargaining position. Dyche and director of football Kevin Thelwell be be aware that the defender's price tag will only augment. Sales of Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey ensured that the club's situation as the end of the financial year on 30 June was made healthier.
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Hide AdThe Athletic has also reported that the sale of Onana means Everton will not sell Branthwaite 'barring any hugely substantial offers for the centre-back'. That means United will be braced for a blow - and perhaps it will be a double-whammy if they indeed courted Onana’s signature during Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first summer transfer window as Old Trafford owner.
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