Manchester United Transfer News: Raphael Varane, Jose Mourinho, Latest Rumours

Transfer speculation surrounding Real Madrid star Raphael Varane is once again heating up following manager Zinedine Zidane’s decision not to use the defender in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Manchester City, with Manchester United rumoured to be suitors if Jose Mourinho becomes the club’s next boss.

According to French outlet Le 10 Sport (h/t Daily Star’s Luke Gardener), the Red Devils, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are all monitoring the situation.

Varane has played regular minutes for Los Blancos this season, but Zidane turned to the duo of Sergio Ramos and Pepe for both Champions League matches against City. The two have been Real’s preferred option in the centre of the defence for years, and that in turn has led to plenty of transfer rumours surrounding Varane.

Paul White/Associated Press

The 23-year-old has never hidden his admiration for Mourinho, regularly complimenting the manager after he left the club for Chelsea, per Le Journal du Dimanche (h/t Mark Critchley of the Independent).

Mourinho launched Varane’s career in the Spanish capital, and the links between the two have been discussed ever since.

Per Sky Sports’ Paul Vinnell, Zidane even felt compelled to tell Mourinho he won’t have the chance to sign the Frenchman: "He knows him well, he brought him here to the club. But I want Varane to stay in Madrid. He is the future of the club."

Here’s a look at some of Varane’s highlights:

The France international is a tidy, athletic defender who isn’t overly reliant on brute force to win battles. He’s a strong presence in the air and excels in one-on-one situations, and his distribution is one of the more underrated aspects of his game.

It’s easy to see why Real are so keen on keeping Varane at the club, or why the team has steadily increased his playing time the last few seasons.

Per WhoScored.com, he has started 22 La Liga matches this season, so he certainly isn’t out of favour. But Zidane’s reluctance to use him against City suggests he doesn’t trust the young defender the way he does Pepe or Ramos.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

According to MailOnline’s Simon Jones, Mourinho is desperate to start with a new club this summer, while United would prefer to keep current manager Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford for one more year and hand the reigns to the Special One in the summer of 2017.

The Red Devils will likely need Mourinho to convince Varane to join, as the club’s lack of success since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and the possibility of missing out on Champions League qualification might not sound appealing to the defender.

United have the allure to attract star players even without those things, but if Bayern and PSG get involved, things will become complicated. Both have the financial means to match United’s offer, and they tend to win silverware every single season.

All of that is contingent on Varane leaving Madrid, which is far from a given. Pepe is 33 years old, and he’ll start to decline soon enough. Per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror, Real’s impending transfer ban will make a move even less likely, as Los Blancos might not be able to find a suitable replacement once the ban kicks in.

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