Raphael Varane | Signed for United!

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mancsarered

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charlenefan said:
I've seen a lot of those calls on social media, do we really think Lindelof was stinking up the place that much? Or is Varane going to make that big a difference?

We should definitely be better now that much is obvious but we should probably hold off calling our defence the best this or that. Leave that for the Chelsea fans ;)
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I think Shaw's uptick in form helps a lot as well
 

lex talionis

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Noodle said:
He's one of those players i've always heard other people talk about but hadn't actually seen him play until recently. Certainly didn't do enough in those few games i did see to be classed as the second best CB in the world.

He'll be a decent enough signing don't get me wrong
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First thing you need to know about Raphael Varane is that he’s a Real Madrid legend. Just a shade below Hierro IMO. He has Rio’s attributes of reading and intercepting and of asked who between prime Rio and this Varane, I’d only give it to Rio by the tiniest of edges. Raphael really is that good.

But more importantly, he’s won it all. We’ve lacked leadership since 2013 and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re bringing in one of the great leaders on the pitch.
 

JB7

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Interestingly, it’s yet another defender used to playing in front of an offensive goalkeeper in Navas & Courtois. Unless Ole picks the right goalkeeper I don’t see a lot of the goals we conceded last season being prevented - obviously he’s a massive upgrade on Lindelof so those one on one battles I expect us to be better & to not concede the goals where Lindelof literally got bullied but if he sticks with DDG I still expect that corridor of uncertainty will remain between the defence and goalkeeper.
 

SAFMUTD

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lex talionis said:
What an outstanding signing. It’s been rumored for a while but it’s still hard to believe it’s actually happened. Virgil aside, there isn’t a better CB on the planet than Raphael Varane.

At the risk of getting ahead ourselves, I’d still like to put out there the possibility of Pogba’s contract holdout having something to do with us finally bringing in would class footballers.
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I don't know what to feel about Varane, he was world-class for a long long time but the last 2 seasons he wasn't at his best.

I just hope this doesn't turn out to be another Alexis' situation for us.
 

lex talionis

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JB7 said:
Interestingly, it’s yet another defender used to playing in front of an offensive goalkeeper in Navas & Courtois. Unless Ole picks the right goalkeeper I don’t see a lot of the goals we conceded last season being prevented - obviously he’s a massive upgrade on Lindelof so those one on one battles I expect us to be better & to not concede the goals where Lindelof literally got bullied but if he sticks with DDG I still expect that corridor of uncertainty will remain between the defence and goalkeeper.
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Point taken re the right keeper, but for me if we can cut down by half on the number of goals conceded on set pieces — a few weeks ago someone here claimed we conceded 18 goals on set pieces, not sure how many were pk’s though — that’s the main improvement defensively we need to focus on. There were three or four goals conceded where it was all on Lindelof getting bullied, but where we look completely clueless defensively last season was in defending set pieces. Like watching wolves feast of lambs.
 

scottw

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I am hoping it doesn't come down to what usually happens with RM players targeted by United. Just a way to get a bigger contract, and the way this is going, I feel like he is just using us. How long should it take to agree on a weekly wage, maybe a week? Then, if you REALLY want him, just pay the $50M to RM for him or move on. I think that price is fair for him, yeah it would be great if we could get him for less, but $10m isn't something to screw around with if we are serious.

The longer this goes on the less likely it will happen, IMO.
 

JB7

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lex talionis said:
Point taken re the right keeper, but for me if we can cut down by half on the number of goals conceded on set pieces — a few weeks ago someone here claimed we conceded 18 goals on set pieces, not sure how many were pk’s though — that’s the main improvement defensively we need to focus on. There were three or four goals conceded where it was all on Lindelof getting bullied, but where we look completely clueless defensively last season was in defending set pieces. Like watching wolves feast of lambs.
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Yeah I agree & I’m hopeful that will improve regardless given the appointment of a specialist set piece coach. However my point is on set pieces our players look to the goalkeeper taking charge where possible (ie ball into 6 yard box central area) & I don’t think Varane will be any different as that is what he’s used to. I’m not dumbing down the signing in any way, I’m absolutely delighted with it.
 
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