Arsenal are scouting Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, but there’s little more than that to the situation as it stands.

Fabrizio Romano reports that his understanding of links between Arsenal and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite is that it’s just normal scouting, with nothing concrete at this stage.

Everton want to keep the defender, and they’re more likely to consider a sale in the summer transfer window, if at all.

Alex Crook had reported on talkSPORT (via TBR) that Arsenal were tracking Branthwaite’s situation, along with a few other Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Everton are struggling financially at the moment, with the Premier League releasing a statement earlier this week to confirm that the club are in breach of the league’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Everton sustained losses above the permitted threshold for the assessment period ending at the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign, and an independent commission will now determine the appropriate sanction.

The club have already been docked 10 points this season, though they currently sit outside of the league’s bottom three in spite of that.

Another 10 point deduction would leave them bottom of the table, albeit with plenty of time to salvage their situation.

The sale of Branthwaite could help Everton out of their current hole, so the player may well be on the market for Arsenal if they step up their interest this summer.