Manchester boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly eyeing a move for Real Madrid’s defensive sensation Raphael Varane as the Portuguese gaffer aims to return with an action-packed side in Manchester United’s comeback season in the Champions League. The French international has been Real’s first-choice alongside Sergio Ramos at a young age and is definitely a thrilling future prospect.
The Red Devils had a pathetic season in the Premier League where they could manage only a sixth-place finish in Mourinho’s first season after a year-long hiatus since getting sacked from Chelsea the previous season. Despite bringing in star players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly last summer, the side failed to make any sort of impact with most matches failing to get a clear outcome.
United drew 15 times in the league last season more than any side, which compounding with the EFL Cup replays and Europa League’s midweek fixtures forced a team fatigue and numerous injuries. The most affected with it was United’s defence. New signing Bailly was out with injury half of the season, and the established duo of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling joined late too, owing to their respective injuries.
Mourinho could find a solid central defence partnership in full-backs Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind, but the Argentine was ruled out for the season too with few league games left. Mourinho had clearly run out of patience and options at the end and the Europa League win was a huge boost for the side. Now with Champions League football next season, the boss is digging up defensive reinforcements to avoid any such risks.
Varane has a long-time admirer in Manchester United, who have been scouting him since the Alex Ferguson days. The legendary manager apparently was quite impressed with the player seeing him in French side Lens. However, a deal couldn’t materialise and United had to buy Phil Jones instead. It was Mourinho, who brought Varane to Santiago Bernabeu back in 2011 for £9million. And he wishes to do the same again.
Against many predicting his failure at the club, the 24-year-old has established himself as an important player in the squad and played a significant role in helping Real Madrid lift the Champions League for the second time in a row.
While Real should ideally want to keep him at all cost, reports have also claimed that the La Liga giants are offering the centre-half with Alvaro Morata to get David De Gea this summer. While it looks only a speculation, that swap deal could be huge for United.
