It's a good decision not to offer him a new contract, he is a good defender but his fitness record is appalling, let's move on from these types of signing and find young and hungry players, it's not bad to sign older or experienced players but paying a fee and offering top salaries prevent the club from being flexible in the transfer market.
Raphael Varane to leave United
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Well, we still don't know for sure if we'll be playing midweek and won't know for sure for another 11 days.
And no, I don't think that there's ever anything ideal about having a injury prone player around. You just never know when they'll be out again, and the number of matches is not the only barometer.
We'll need to bring in younger, fitter CBs anyway. Might as well get rid of some of the CB's we've already got. Hopefully we can also sell someone like Lindelof, but it remains to be seen. Letting go of someone whose contract is up is a no brainer for me.
This was leaked as happening unless Varane took a payout on a new contract around when we also leaked Martial would leave. Didn't come out of nowhere.
It's a good decision by Ineos Team. We need to get rid of underperformer with massive salary. It's a good start. One down many to go. Next should be Casemeiro, Martial, Antony, Sancho and Rashford.
My optimism for the INEOS ownership hinges on how well we sell this summer. If they can't get decent money for Sancho (instrumental in getting BVB to the CL final), Greenwood (seemingly doing very well in the La Liga) and Casemiro then they're no better than what came before.
Raise 120-150m from those three and we're back in business.
Antony, we're basically as low as possible in terms of current valuation. I wouldn't sell now. Martial is leaving on a free (we're not triggering the contract extension).
True, I am very much resigned to no European football. I hope we do get it, I just don't see any way in which it happens unless, miraculously, the injured players come back into the side and are 100% full fitness. Even then they still have to show a level of performance none of them have shown throughout the season.
I think Varane is a different case compared to the other CBs. He has experience invaluable to a squad, he actually is our best defender for covering large spaces when fit and decent on the ball. Maguire is regularly available, but comes with the obvious issue if you want to play higher. Lindelof has his back problems, Evans is over the hill and won't renew anyway. You need at least 2 senior CBs and I don't see the point of hanging our hats on Maguire or Lindelof, at least Varane has some pedigree and Kambwala can cover for him.
I agree totally on bringing younger fitter CBs. I appreciate Varanes wage and injury proneness, but I'd sooner have Maguire and Lindelof gone before him. I just don't see us replacing 3 CBs this summer and that worries me we'll be relying on players we know aren't good enough or a style we want to play.
Realistically, for Casemeiro because of his age and massive salary, unless it's Saudi, we would have to let him go for free. The rate of his declining is alarming.
For Greenwood, because of his past, we would be only looking at maybe 20M. No one is willing to take risks. We need to pray that Saudi is interested.
For Sancho, as good as he is now in CL final, I don't think Dortmund can afford him with his massive salary. And there is no big club interested in him. I will not be surprised he may go back to Dortmund on loan next year. Best case scenario is club like BM or Barcelona interested who can afford his salary and maybe a 50M transfer fees.
All in all, for the 3 I would be happy with 70-90M max.
Wonder where he goes next. He doesn’t seem the type to head to the Saudis, so Italy to prolong his career in Europe?
Is he going back to Lens where it all started for him? But then I highly doubt they can afford to pay his high wages unless he takes a pay cut. Probably already has an offer from a Saudi or MLS club
A stable CB partnership is the bedrock of any successful defence. We can't have Varane on ridiculous wages getting injured every two games. Kambwala is a baby, he won't start for Luton town let alone Manchester United.
Let's see what happens with the coaching appointments and sales. It shouldn't be that hard to sign a decent CB. We can spend on one and bargain hunt for the other.
Right decision. No point throwing good money after bad.
Valid point. Maybe we'll buy a partner for Martinez and another young CB. I'm just worn down by bad recruitment decisions, I don't have a great deal of faith we can fill the squad gaps with enough quality.
Sad to see him go as I like him a lot. But he's not available often enough so it makes sense to get the wage off the books. Still disappointed though.
Varane was always top notch when on the field though and in reality for a centre back it was his injury record not his age.sad part is we signed him when he should have been in his prime....
Classy player and sadly we got the injured/past-his-best version of him.
Lesson: don't sign ageing stars who have won it all on the biggest stages - when you're supposed to be rebuilding.
Him and Martinez was a brilliant combo as shown last season so I think his transfer was a decent decision. He’s a man who loved the club and always played for the badge when fit.
The club was a shambles two years out of the three but he always elevated us when fit.
Honestly a shame we got him so late in his career, would have been a rock for us if he were younger.
Another Laurent blanc-esque signing. Decent but not good enough. We need CBs who are fast, strong, can tackle and pass through the lines and not injury prone.
A brilliant player in his prime, we bought him 10 years too late. Seems a genuinely nice guy and still has a lot to offer when fit but his wages vs contribution because of his injuries was just not working. Shame we couldn't have kept him on a pay as you play type incentive.
I do think it's a positive step though and shows the change in direction we're looking to go. Lindelof and Maguire must follow him out the door.
I do think it's a positive step though and shows the change in direction we're looking to go. Lindelof and Maguire must follow him out the door.
This, this and treble this!
Hope he ends up at Milan.
He's never available consistently - so his replacement needs to be not crocked!
Was expected. Was a bit of a rocky three years for him. He has largely played well when he has been on the pitch but there has just been too many injuries. It’s a shame because he is quite obviously a great defender but we just haven’t see enough of it here.
Best of luck to him in the future.
Best of luck to him in the future.
As soon as he's away from our medical team, watch him go injury free and beast mode.
Good luck to him
Good luck to him
Start of a massive clean out hopefully
Goodbye.
He wsw one of our best/least worst in his first season, despite quite a few injuries. Last year he was very good with Lisandro, they were a top notch CB pair mist of the season. This year have been injuries, suffering from no continuity at all, and also a visible decline in speed and agility, also leading to him being weaker on the ball.
I’ll remeber him as putting in a goid shift, and we definitely had been worse off without him.
I’ll remeber him as putting in a goid shift, and we definitely had been worse off without him.
Hope we can win the final and he lifts the FA cup with the fans roaring. That’ll be a fantastic farewell
Utd are going to have to find another CB with his mix of attributes, aerial dominance, recovery speed, reading of the game, to pair with Martinez.
Varane in the few games it all clicked for him physically was comfortably Utd's best defender but how many games was that over these 3 seasons?
Varane in the few games it all clicked for him physically was comfortably Utd's best defender but how many games was that over these 3 seasons?
Who's also not exactly reliable on the fitness front.
You can make a decent side out of signing Madrid rejects but need to make sure they're young and not on crazy wages. (Odegaard, Ozil etc.). At one point it seemed like Rodrygo too.
Oozes class, I’m sad to see him go but he just doesn’t justify the wages. Hopefully he can get fit for the FA Cup Final.
Varane and Martinez is the best short lived centre back partnership we’ve ever had.
Varane and Martinez is the best short lived centre back partnership we’ve ever had.
that we have ever had? come on man.
When fit, he was absolutely class, and the best defender we’ve had since Rio and Vidic (edges out Martinez for me).
Really classy player that was fast and read the game well, just a real shame he wasn’t able to stay fit
Really classy player that was fast and read the game well, just a real shame he wasn’t able to stay fit
Whatever proccess we're about to go through is not going to be over within a year, so we will be relying on a squad that's less than perfectly fitting the level or style required for a while yet anyway.
The situation is that we know we can let go of Varane now. We've no idea whether we'll be able to sell Maguire or Lindelof. Indeed, even agreeing a fee for Maguire last year wasn't enough. So I understand why, even if in a perfect world Varane would not have been the first out the door, that decision was made.
Not to mention the possibility that he didn't want to stay. No point in using his one-year extension in that case.
He's our best defender.
This will only be a good decision if we sign a world class CB this summer.
This will only be a good decision if we sign a world class CB this summer.
I think there’s a question mark over Martínez now. He’s had 3(?) significant injuries this season
If Evans leaves as expected too, and possibly Lindelof, I think we’ll need a couple of CB’s at least this window
If Evans leaves as expected too, and possibly Lindelof, I think we’ll need a couple of CB’s at least this window
No good being our best defender if he isn't fit half the time. It's the right decision.
Stop believing things Wayne Rooney says.
Good news. Let's use those wages on a CB that is actually available most of the time.
Best decision for all parties. Rarely saw him at his best, if ever.
Shame he's leaving. I feel he could have been used better at times but his injuries have stopped us seeing the real Varane.
Wish him well.
Wish him well.