With the summer window only a few months away, the rumours of arrivals in Manchester are beginning to pick up speed. The Manchester United faithful are enraged with Mourinho’s failure to compete with Europe’s elite and Manchester City, despite spending £300m since taking over from Louis Van Gaal. So, what do they want?
Last week’s shock exit to Sevilla sent ripples around the club, putting the Portuguese manager under ample amounts of pressure. So much pressure that he exploded with a 12-minute rant in a recent press conference. Now he has no choice but to make a major statement in the summer to appease the fans.
At the back, United looked a mess and nothing like a Mourinho-drilled team. The 55-year-old has been trying all season to find a perfect CB pairing he feels he can win the title with. Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelöf were meant to be that pairing but the former got injured, and the latter just hasn’t impressed enough.
The likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have never been deemed good enough, that’s why the signing of Raphael Varane is crucial to United’s title aspirations next season. José Mourinho’s sides often resemble solidity, sturdiness and resilience, all traits that perfectly match with Raphael Varane.
According to Raphael Varane himself, Manchester United and José Mourinho are interested in signing the Frenchman. It was José Mourinho who signed Varane for Real Madrid back in 2011, and now he looks set to repeat history.
When asked about whether there had been any contact between the two clubs for him, Varane answered El Larguero with: ‘No, not directly. There were contacts, but not directly.’
Would Raphael Varane want to leave the Bernabéu? Maybe. He’s enjoyed a successful seven years in Spain, and he may want to see if he’s cut out for life in the Premier League.
What would Raphael Varane bring to Manchester United?
On the face of it, Varane is just a pacey, tall and robust centre-back, but beyond that, he’s much more than that. There’s a reason why the Frenchman is known as the best young defender in the world, his mannerisms on the ball show maturity far beyond his age.
When forced into 1v1 situations, the Frenchman uses his pace and composure to nullify the effectiveness of the world’s best strikers. In the air, he’s a beast that can tower over anybody, including Zlatan Ibrahimović.
On the ball, the 24-year-old is just as good. The centre-back often contributes to Real Madrid’s build-up play by stepping out of the defensive line with the ball. This forces opposing teams to retreat, while creating a plethora of passing options.
Even with a world-class attack, Manchester United have struggled to break down low-block teams this season, the ball-playing skills of Varane would help the Red Devils recycle possession in a more effective way.
Having Raphael Varane at the back would also give his potential Manchester United teammates the confidence to push up & attack as much as they want. Knowing Varane’s pace and positioning are both excellent means the Frenchman can more than handle overload situations.
All in all, it’d probably take a world record fee to prize the Frenchman away from Madrid, but this is Manchester United we’re talking about, a team with a history of breaking records.
