Raphael Varane &#8211; CaughtOffside

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Major Leicester player to move on after his contract expires next summer

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“The message from Manchester United on Varane is that it’s a tactical decision. They are very happy with how Harry Maguire is playing. Now that Jonny Evans is injured I’m sure Varane will get more playing time,” Romano said.

“Of course, if they receive important proposals for Varane, it could be an open situation in the January window.

“United will decide on a centre-back signing depending on opportunities, but players like Todibo, an important player for Nice … it’s not easy to sign these players in the January window, so it might have to wait until the summer, but the idea is to bring in an important centre-back in 2024.”

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Pundit tips Erik Ten Hag to reinstate out of favour Man United star

Andrew Walker — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 12:24:12 +0000

Former goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Erik Ten Hag will reintroduce Raphael Varane back into his Manchester United first-team plans.

After failing to start in any of United’s last four games, speculation surrounding Varane’s future at Old Trafford has begun to mount.

And while clubs in the Saudi Pro League are expected to try and lure the 30-year-old Frenchman to the Middle East once the January transfer window opens, Robinson expects the United boss to keep hold of the defender.

“I can’t see it because of the way Man United are at the moment,” he told Football Insider.

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“Nobody ever thought, myself included, that we’d see a centre-back partnership of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans in 2023.

“I think Ten Hag will bring Varane back into the line-up because he has to. Varane is a quality player.

“Again, at Man United, who is making the footballing decisions at the moment? The manager is probably having a state of execution.

“Any other manager at Man United who have had the performances and the run of results that he’s had potentially wouldn’t be there now, but because of what’s going on off the field, he’s still there.

“Yes, there’s excuses from off the field, but last year it didn’t effect the football – this year it is.

“The manager needs the best players to fix that, and Varane is one of those.”

United’s next match after the international break will be against Everton at Goodison Park and with Jonny Evans currently out with an injury, 26th November’s game could see Varane start his first match since the end of last month.

During his first two years at United, Varane, who has 18 months left on his contract, has directly contributed to three goals in 74 games in all competitions.

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Erik ten Hag explains why he’s dropped Manchester United star amid transfer uncertainty

Mark Brus — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 15:03:47 +0000

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has attempted to explain why Raphael Varane is not in his starting line up at the moment, amid recent transfer rumours that the France international could make a move to Saudi Arabia.

Varane has somewhat surprisingly fallen out of favour at Man Utd at the moment, but Ten Hag didn’t give too much away as he was asked about the former Real Madrid man’s situation, simply stating that he was happy with the current partnership of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans at the back.

One imagines a player of Varane’s calibre won’t be too happy to sit on the bench for much longer, so it will be interesting to see how this saga develops, especially as Fabrizio Romano has discussed interest from Saudi Pro League clubs in the summer, whilst also writing in his exclusive Daily Briefing column that he feels the 30-year-old deserves to be playing more.

Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans

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When asked if there was an issue between himself and Varane, Ten Hag said, as quoted by the Metro: “Absolutely not. As I said, it is about tactical reasons why I chose these partnerships. I think Harry and Jonny did well.

“What I said last year, Harry didn’t play a lot, so I was very happy with Rapha’s performances. I have always been happy with his performance. But in this moment, Harry is playing very well and there is internal competition.”

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Under-fire Raphael Varane could give Erik ten Hag another headache at Man United

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 08:44:58 +0000

He’s struggled with injury and form again this season, but Raphael Varane is still very much a part of Erik ten Hag’s squad at Man United.

The French World Cup and multiple Champions League winner has, along with the Red Devils squad, come under fire this season for some underwhelming performances.

Bottom of their Champions League group and nine points off neighbours Man City in the Premier League’s top spot, it’s not been a good 2023/24 campaign so far.

With must-win games to come against Galatasaray and Copenhagen in the Champions League, as well as domestic assignments against Newcastle, Chelsea and Liverpool all in their next eight matches, things aren’t getting any easier for the Red Devils in the short term.

United have the only minus goal difference in the top 10, so it’s obvious that the Dutchman has problems in his defence and therefore it’s only right that Varane takes his share of the blame.

However, according to Football Insider, Saudi clubs don’t appear to be hanging around in registering their interest in the player and want him to join the emerging Pro League as early as January 2024.

Should he do so, he could be handing ten Hag another selection headache this season.

Given their status when compared with the top five European leagues, any player going there can only be doing so for the financial rewards on offer.

From Varane’s perspective he’s won it all in Europe, so a few years in Saudi to set himself and his family up for life could well be something that appeals.

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Exclusive: Man United star “deserves to play more” amid transfer links, says Fabrizio Romano

Mark Brus — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 10:27:00 +0000

Manchester United defender Raphael Varane is not necessarily looking set to leave Old Trafford in the January transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive Daily Briefing column.

Varane was a target for Saudi Pro League clubs during the summer, according to Romano, but he’s not aware of anything changing recently following fresh speculation over the Frenchman’s future, and with the former Real Madrid man not seeing much playing time at the moment.

Despite his quality and experience at the highest level, Varane has failed to start games for Man Utd recently, and Romano admits he feels the 30-year-old deserves the chance to play more regularly.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Varane is looking to leave, with Romano insisting he didn’t even negotiate a potential exit amid Saudi interest in the summer, so it may still be that his preference will be to stay with his current club for a bit longer.

“Raphael Varane has been linked with Saudi clubs, but my understanding is that there is nothing ongoing right now,” Romano said.

“There was interest from the Saudi Pro League during the summer, but it was not even a negotiation as he wanted to stay at Manchester United.

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“Despite not playing as much at the moment, I’m not hearing that anything has changed. Of course, in my view, he deserves to play more, but let’s see if that will change soon.

“For now, I’m not aware of any developments with Saudi clubs or any other possible move this January.”

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Exclusive: Another defender now more likely than Harry Maguire to seal transfer out of Man United in January

Mark Brus — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:35:56 +0000

Manchester United could be set to sell Raphael Varane to a club in the Saudi Pro League in this January’s transfer window, with Harry Maguire now seen as increasingly likely to stay at Old Trafford.

Sources with a close understanding of the situation have informed CaughtOffside that Man Utd would be ready to consider the right offer for Varane, who is attracting interest from the PIF group of Saudi clubs, meaning he could end up at any one of Al Ahli, Al Hilal, Al Nassr or Al Ittihad, depending on who needs him most.

A host of big names moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer, with Cristiano Ronaldo starting this trend when he joined Al Nassr almost a year ago after also leaving United.

The Red Devils are keen to make a centre-back a priority for 2024, and while it had previously seemed like Maguire could be the obvious choice to leave, that is no longer the case, as the player remains keen to fight for his place in Erik ten Hag’s squad, whereas Varane is understood to have expressed a desire to try a new challenge.

Raphael Varane’s Manchester United future is in doubt

Harry Maguire could stay at Man Utd

The Frenchman has been a solid performer since his move from Real Madrid a couple of years ago, but it also seems pretty clear that he’s no longer at the peak of his powers, and MUFC have identified some younger centre-backs as potential replacements.

CaughtOffside understands that Goncalo Inacio, Antonio Silva, Edmond Tapsoba and Marc Guehi are among the names on the club’s list of targets in that area of the pitch, though the preferred option at the top of their list is Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo.

Todibo has long been scouted closely by United, and it’s widely felt that he could soon leave his current club for a new challenge, with Nice likely to ask for around £44million to let him go. Reports have also linked Chelsea with the player, but CaughtOffside‘s sources are not currently aware of anything happening on that front.

Jean-Clair Todibo to Manchester United?

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United, meanwhile, are continuing to back Ten Hag as manager, with no truth to links with other big names like Zinedine Zidane and Ruben Amorim, while it remains the case that Jadon Sancho is likely to leave Old Trafford in January, though no one has come forward with a concrete approach so far.

Anthony Martial could also leave, depending on offers, but United hope to agree new contracts for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof, while there is not currently any plan to move Antony on. Marcus Rashford is also fully focused and committed to the club despite recently landing himself in trouble with Ten Hag for attending a birthday party shortly after the defeat in the Manchester Derby.

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Exclusive: ‘He always wants to play’ – Sky Sports transfer expert has the truth on Saudi links with Man United ace

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 07:50:00 +0000

Football players wanting to play every match for their clubs isn’t new, and one can understand Raphael Varane’s current frustration at Man United.

The Frenchman is a World Cup and Champions League winner, and yet Erik ten Hag has reduced him to a role on the subs bench of late.

Whilst it’s true he’s getting no younger, Varane is only 30 years of age and there’s still plenty of years left in the tank yet.

Various media outlets have reported on rumours that the player might well consider a move to the Saudi Pro League as a result, including this one from Football Transfers, and CaughtOffside columnist, Fabrizio Romano, writing in his exclusive Daily Briefing, looked into the truth of whether this giant of the game was indeed getting ready to leave the Premier League.

‘I’m not aware of Varane wanting to move to Saudi at this stage,’ he wrote.

‘He always wants to play, that’s normal for a top player like him, and at the moment there’s nothing advanced with any other club.’

What’s odd is that such rumours have even made it into the public domain, and that hints at leaks behind the scenes, perhaps to destabilise the club further.

From the player’s point of view, whether or not he remains happy with his lot, he is still a professional and has to ensure the highest levels of performance whilst wearing the shirt.

‘Ten Hag mentioned that Varane is also ready to play this weekend so let’s see what happens later this year,’ Romano added.

As long as Varane remains in-situ, getting him the right defensive partner in 2024 could well be the key for United overcoming their central defensive issues.

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Raphael Varane ‘seriously’ considering quitting Man United

Andrew Walker — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:51:04 +0000

Raphael Varane would reportedly like to leave Manchester United in favour of a move to Al-Nassr.

That’s according to a recent report from Football Transfers, who claim the French defender ‘seriously wants’ to be reunited with former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Varane, 30, had shown his desire to succeed at Old Trafford after retiring from international football. However, with one of Saudi Pro League’s biggest teams interested in signing him, it appears the former Real Madrid man has now had a change of heart.

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