Rangers and Celtic target Jarrad Branthwaite struggling with weight of £1m interest

The defender is wanted in Glasgow and in the Premier League as interest hots up.

Rangers and Celtic target Jarrad Branthwaite's boss at Carlisle United has conceded the club will 'do their best for everyone' as both Celtic and Rangers scouts watched him again at the weekend.

The 17-year-old central defender has been linked with a £1 million move to Glasgow after bursting onto the scene this season with the English League Two club.

But the Old Firm also face major competition with Manchester City, Leicester City and Arsenal all linked with him too.

Scouts from both the Parkhead and Ibrox clubs watched him play in an unusual defensive midfielder role in Carlisle's weekend draw at Morecambe.

And new Carlisle boss Chris Beech admits he expects offers to be made next month.

He said: "The speculation is a challenge for him. I don’t think it’s my job to talk about how hard it will be to keep him - I think it’s the club’s.

"They’ve got to do what’s best for everybody and everything. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. It’s very difficult for him to deal with that as a player.

"At the weekend, I had the choice, I could bring him back in the squad and sit him on the bench, or get him back on the pitch. I wanted him on the pitch.

“I felt Jarrad has the ability to pass and switch play. We didn’t use him enough. But he won all his headers, did an immense, strong tackle in the first half, and was excellent in terms of having a go at what he was trying to achieve.

"Jarrad, I’ve seen him now for about 10 days, and I’ve coached a lot of very good young players, but he is excellent. I had Dale Stephens at 17, he plays Premier League football for Brighton now.

"And Jarrad is definitely better than Dale at the same age."