A Champions League team has expressed their desire to sign out-of-favour Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane. However, there appears to be a stumbling block about the French World Cup winner leaving Old Trafford anytime soon.
Raphael Varane hasn’t started a Premier League game since September. The four-time Champion League winner has been repeatedly left out of Eric Ten Hag’s starting line-up. Over the past seven weeks, his preferred pairing in the heart of the defence have been Harry Maguire and 35-year-old Jonny Evans.
However, when Evans was ruled out of the match against Luton after injuring his thigh, Ten Hag chose to take on Victor Lindelof alongside Maguire, rather than Varane.
Ten Hag has said publicly that Varane’s downgrading is because of tactical reasons. However, Varane is ‘unhappy’ with the whole scenario and is reportedly looking to leave.
Now, Varane’s first professional club’s manager has opened up about taking the French centre-back back to the club.
Varane spent between 2002 and 2011 at French club RC Lens. His first professional season at RC Lens in 2010/11 saw him join Real Madrid, where he had since established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world.
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Franck Haise, the manager of Lens, said at a press conference that Varane can join the French club.
“If Raphael wants to come back, he is welcomed with open arms every time With a contract, it’s something else. I read that it was complicated for Bayern Munich to pay his salary. So if it’s complicated for Bayern. But maybe he wants to come back, I don’t know. It’s a great debate, but it’s not a current debate,” Hayes told FootMercato.
As Haise pointed out, Varane’s hefty salary will likely be a stumbling block to any deal. But if there’s one club that Varane will be willing to lower his salary for, it could be his childhood club.