Manchester United have been tipped to “explore” a potential deal for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane in his search for a center-back partner for Harry Maguire this summer.
Varane has been strongly linked with United on and off for a decade, even before he sealed a high-profile transfer to Real Madrid from Lens while still a teenager in the summer of 2011. But rumors have returned in 2021 as the Frenchman approaches the final year of his contract in Spain.
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Man Utd are looking for a center back and Varane has been proven at the highest level Soccrates Images / Getty Images
There has been no indication that a deal for a new deal for Varane to extend his stay at the Bernabeu is imminent and Real will need to consider selling him this summer if he makes it clear he is ready to terminate his current contract. and possibly leave as a free agent in 2022.
United are looking for a midfielder but have generally explored younger options and put down a shortlist of possible goals for Jules Kounde, 22, or Pau Torres, 24. But Varane, despite his years at the highest level, will only turn 28 years later this month .
His contract situation adds a certain opportunism and the Daily Mail suggests that United have been ‘encouraged’ that he is ready to leave Real.
Los Blancos can still ask for as much as £ 60m for Varane, with player sales set to be a major source of funding for his own transfer business this year, but there could also be competition for his signature from Paris Saint-Germain. He was born and raised in Lille in the northeastern corner of France before moving to nearby Lens, but it is suggested that he was still a PSG fan growing up.
Man Utd have mainly looked at younger goals like Pau Torres | David Ramos / Getty Images
Although Kounde or Torres remain a priority, Varane’s potential availability could change the overall situation if there is a real chance of signing him. He is proven at the highest level, having won four Champions League trophies and the World Cup, and would be a similar award. It is even said that United would try to negotiate Real’s expected price of 60 million pounds.
When former United captain Gary Neville was recently asked to name the player he would most like to bring in from a rival club this summer, the answer was Varane.
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