Manchester United have welcomed a number of high-profile names to the club during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time in charge, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho all moving to Old Trafford.
And four-time Champions League winner Raphael Varane will soon add to that list when his move to United is rubberstamped following the completion of his medical.
Manchester United Fan Brand editor Mike Parrott spoke with United Fan Brand writer/presenter Omar Garrick on a Facebook Live on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a host of United-related news, including what United fans can expect from their new French defender.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
“Varane is probably the perfect defensive target and we’ve managed to acquire him, and I think he just improves United in every single area,” he said.
“In terms of the midfield, he allows the likes of Paul Pogba to push up higher in a more advanced position like you see with Pogba’s role in France.
“I think a lot of talk was about the defensive weakness of Aaron Wan-Bissaka in terms of going forward and his defensive positioning but Varane improves that immensely: a) through the distance he covers and b) occupying the right-hand side a lot as we saw at Real Madrid. So I just think it is such a transformative signing.
“It’s taken a long time because of quarantine. I’m a bit annoyed and a bit disappointed about that but what can you do?”
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
United Fan Brand writer/presenter Casey Evans also featured on Facebook Live and provided an in-depth assessment of what Raphael Varane offers compared to the central defenders already at the club.
“Maguire and Lindelof are two very similar players; they like to occupy the space where people are not, they are good on the ball, they’re good passers,” he added.
“But what Varane offers is that Varane is someone who is spatially aware, he’s got a lot of pace, a lot of presence and I think that’s the problem we’ve seen with Victor Lindelof and Maguire is they go for the same balls. They push up high. They kind of get a disjointed back-line and when Lindelof goes up too high then you are leaving Maguire on his own as the one-man defence.
“What I think Varane offers is he’s very aware of where Maguire will be and they will get their line in order and they will cover each other very well.
You may notice this piece of writing has been produced by a name you’re not familiar with on our regular Manchester United content.
That is because we are expanding our horizons and starting to bring even more to you from a whole host of different voices. We have appointed a whole host of people who – like our journalists – care deeply about what’s happening at Old Trafford – but sit in the stands rather than the press box.
We want to give you raw, authentic fan voices about the big issues at Man United – which is why the story you have read today might sit on the Manchester Evening News for now, and is part of the MEN family, but is not representative of those who work there full time.
Keep your eyes peeled for more info on where you can read more from this author in the future. But in the meantime, we hope you enjoy what they have written.
“I think they’ll also help Aaron Wan-Bissaka because I think he’s obviously had his problems at the back post. We’ve seen a lot of chances where Wan-Bissaka has not been present and the back post has been unmarked. But sometimes I would say that Lindelof at times may have stepped too far into his line and the ball has gone behind him, whereas a more experienced defender would have read that line and would have read the run a bit better.
“I think it’s one of those things that will improve the defence wholeheartedly because it will be more in sync with each other.”
“What is clear is that Manchester United fans are incredibly eager to see Raphael Varane, not only officially announced, but also to see exactly what he can offer. The race is on to see whether or not he will be fit enough to feature in United’s opening Premier League game against Leeds United, but Varane has the chance to be the missing piece in Manchester United’s armour.”
What do you think about the arrival of Raphael Varane at United? Follow our new United Fan Brands team – Mike Parrott, Omar Garrick, Casey Evans and Anil Kandola on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
