Everton are on a hunt of signing the best defender this summer

It promises to be an interesting summer at Sunderland, with another of their top

performers wanted by Premier League clubs.

Sunderland defender Dan Ballard is being targeted by Everton as a

replacement for in-demand Jarrad Branthwaite, according to reports.

The 23-year-old has been a standout performer for Sunderland since a £2million move from Arsenal in 2022,

and that has not gone unnoticed by Premier League clubs.

Even though Everton is now having financial issues, they should receive a

financial windfall this summer if they sell Branthwaite, who Manchester United is interested in.

Since he is an academy product, a big sale would generate significant room for manoeuvre within the Premier League

PSR rules, leaving the Toffees able to target a direct replacement.

That man, according to Football Transfers, could well be Ballard, who

the reports claim will command a fee of around £20million.

Ballard, like Jack Clarke, is also of serious interest to Southampton should they get promoted back to the Premier

League. Brentford have also been keeping a close eye on the pair.

It was always going to be the case that Sunderland would face a huge fight to

keep Ballard and Clarke this summer, and with the Black Cats’ own promotion

hopes fading fast it’s starting to look inevitable that they will leave.

Sunderland would feel well-prepared for any potential Ballard departure, though, with players such as Jenson

Seelt, Leo Hjelde and, if he can stay fit, Aji Alese primed to step in.

We can also confirm that Sunderland are looking for at least £20million for

Ballard, although Arsenal have a ‘significant sell-on’ clause that would need to be settled as well

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