1
Manchester United have decided Raphael Varane will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, according to a report by Football Insider.
The 30-year-old’s contract is set to expire this summer, after the club chose not to activate an automatic one-year extension in December.
United officials and Varane’s representatives continued to discuss a potential new deal, on significantly reduced wages, despite this lack of extension.
However, Steve O’Rourke (footballinsider247) now reveals the club will “let the Frenchman leave in June, regardless of what happens in the remainder of the season.”
He reports the club are “keen to make a huge saving” on the Frenchman’s wage packet, worth in the region of £340,000 a week.
As relayed by The Peoples Person here, the INEOS Sport team are keen to streamline the club’s significant wage bill. Varane’s contract was seen as a potentially expendable one by the new executives.
Now, following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ratification as United’s new co-owner (which grants INEOS full control over the sporting operation at Old Trafford), the decision to let the French defender go appears to have been confirmed.
Irrespective of the doubts over Varane’s future, United were planning to target a new centre-back this summer.
None of Varane, Harry Maguire or Victor Lindelof have locked down the starting position in Erik ten Hag’s defence, alongside the first-choice Lisandro Martinez.
All three defenders struggle with the demands the Dutch manager places on his centre-backs, and a younger, more athletic replacement is required.
Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite is reported to be United’s first-choice target for this role. Jean-Clair Todibo, currently of OGC Nice (also owned by Ratcliffe coincidentally) is another defender admired by the club. ‘
With confirmation that Varane will be departing, however, and continued doubts over Maguire and Lindelof’s long-term future as well, United may be forced to target not one but two centre-backs this summer.
The latest injury to Luke Shaw – expected to rule the England fullback out until the final few weeks of the season – makes left-back an acute area of concern as well.
Tyrell Malacia has been unavailable for the entirety of this campaign, further exacerbating Shaw’s repeated absences. Furthermore, the Dutchman does not appear ready to start at left-back for United, even when fit.
Shaw has also performed excellently when shifted inside to left centre-back under Ten Hag; playing far better than Varane, Maguire or Lindelof in this role.
This position is less physically taxing than fullback, and may be a better option for the 28-year-old to help manage his injury issues moving forward.
As such, if United were to target a new left-back this summer, it would enable Shaw to invert centrally – to offer another option at centre-back – while providing an upgrade on Malacia at fullback.
This would then allow the club to let Varane and potentially one other centre-back leave in the summer, while only needing to buy one in their place.
INEOS have been ruthlessly efficient in the early stages of their revolution at Old Trafford. This defensive musical chairs in the summer would fall right in line with this approach.
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
