Manchester United have turned their attention to signing Real Madrid center-back Raphael Varane now that they have finally reached an agreement to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho, with a deal close to the Frenchman.
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The year-long story of United’s quest for Sancho is finally coming to an end after the Red Devils agreed on a fee of around £ 73 million, and Sancho signed a five-year contract with the possibility of another season.
It has taken an eternity, but United have apparently done the job, and now they can change focus on other potential signings. According to The Telegraph, it is Varane who is quite at the top of his shopping list.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær believes that it is the most pressing issue to find a center-back partner for Harry Maguire on his Sancho list of things to sort out, and Varane is counted as the priority goal for United this summer.
The 28-year-old Frenchman, who has been on United’s radar since joining Real in 2011, has continued to reject talks over a new contract at the Santiago Bernabeu in search of a new challenge, and United are keen to give him that.
ESPN claims that talks between the two teams have made real progress in recent days and United are now said to be close to reaching an agreement, with a fee of around £ 43 million likely to be enough to convince Real to sell.
Varane is ready to leave Real / Denis Doyle / Getty Images
Whether that fee would actually make the deal or not remains to be seen. We have already had reports that United failed with a £ 50m bid for Varane, which was originally expected to cost close to £ 80m.
United were obviously reluctant to get anywhere near that, but they have not been deterred and seem to be close to getting a deal.
If a move for Varane collapses, United are expected to turn to Villarreal’s Pau Torres, where The Guardian claims that the 24-year-old is in fact Solskjaer’s preferred target.
Torres is another option / BSR Agency / Getty Images
In addition to a midfielder, United are pursuing a new central midfielder, with West Ham’s Declan Rice and Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka as potential targets.
There is even some hope that a new striker can come in. Tottenham’s Harry Kane is still the top scorer in that position, but Edinson Cavani’s extension means that a new striker is no longer a priority.
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