raphael Varane
According to this report by The Express, Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane could have his wages doubled by Manchester United. The Frenchman has spent almost the entirety of his senior footballing career at Real Madrid ever since he moved from Lens back in 2011. And now, it seems that he has caught Manchester United’s eyes.
He has spent 10 years in Madrid but now has a single year remaining on his contract. Los Galacticos seemingly want a fee of over £60million for the 28-year-old, who is also included in the French national team for the UEFA European Championship. The report goes on to say that Madrid could cash in on him this summer if he doesn’t renew his deal.
When a club like Manchester United plan to strengthen their starting XI, they would know that quality might not come cheap. But the quoted figure for Varane seems reasonable when a few factors are considered. Firstly, it is less than the £80million they spent on Harry Maguire, whom they bought from Premier League side Leicester City.
On the other hand, Varane comes with a plethora of experience with Madrid and France. Secondly, the World Cup and UCL-winning defender is arguably in the prime of his career.
And lastly, wages don’t seem to be a problem as a report by Defensa Central (h/t The Express) claims United are willing to double his wages. So it is evident that United can afford to have him on their books.
What better way to target a league title and European glory than to have a player in your squad who has done it all? Varane has won multiple league titles, Champions League trophies, and domestic trophies with Real Madrid. He was also a major part of France’s World Cup-winning team in 2018. (h/t transfermarkt)
And if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to bring the glory days back to United, then Varane seems to be a player who would bring in a lot in terms of experience and knowledge of the big occasions. Varane is still just 28, which can be considered as the prime age for a defender.
He has experience behind him and a lot of years ahead of him as well. United would thus be signing a player that can give a number of years to the club. Gary Neville, a club legend at Old Trafford, seems to agree with a move for the Frenchman and cited him as the one player he would want the club to sign in the summer.
The biggest reason for signing Varane should be the fact that United are lacking a regular partner for Harry Maguire. The Englishman is a regular fixture in the Red Devils’ defence but has seen his centre-back partner change over the course of the season. Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof are the ones who majorly share game time in that position.
Bailly’s injury history is worrying but it is compounded by Lindelof’s chronic back injury. Even if the two had squeaky clean injury records, adding someone like Varane would be a no-brainer.
Not just depth and competition but he will bring a plethora of quality as well as experience into the United team, which can be the difference between being runners-up and Champions next season.
