21 October 2023 , 09:07
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Tim Sherwood has slammed Raphael Varane and believes the Manchester United centre-back is "getting away with it" amid criticism aimed at team-mate Harry Maguire.
Varane has struggled for form so far this season and has already missed four matches due to injury, including the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich last month. In fact, the Frenchman has now sat out of a staggering 36 games since his big-money move to Old Trafford from Real Madrid in 2021.
Last season when fit, Varane often partnered Lisandro Martinez in central defence, but the duo have only played together a handful of times within the last six months. This has seen the likes of Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans handed minutes instead, especially in Premier League matches.
When assessing Varane, ex-Tottenham boss Sherwood slammed the defender for his recent performances in the United side. Sherwood also pointed out the hatred Maguire has received, with the 30-year-old subject to boos from his own supporters during a pre-season friendly.
He told William Hill: "One player that really annoys me is Raphael Varane. I think he is getting away with it. He is never fit and when he is fit he's bang average. We all know he's had a great career but at the same time everyone is happy to jump on the back of Harry Maguire whilst Varane just gets away with it.
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"The ones who play more football are simply more durable and they can play week in week out, Varane seems to play once and then be injured again for two weeks. He seems to be picking his games, but when he plays he’s not that brilliant anyway.
Tim Sherwood has taken aim at Raphael Varane (Getty Images)"Ten Hag is not judging players equally and he’s just chucking people onto the pitch and hoping one of the superstars wins him the match. As soon as one of the superstars is fit he takes the likes of Hannibal and McTominay out of the team, and they end up losing football matches."
After missing the 2-1 win over Brentford before the international break, Erik ten Hag confirmed on Friday that Varane is set to return to the fold to face Sheffield United. Sergio Reguilon is also poised to come back into the squad, although United will be without the injured Casemiro.
"Rapha Varane is back, so I think, especially in the backline, I’m very happy with Rapha back and Sergio back," Ten Hag told MUTV. That's very good news, of course. It’s disappointing that Casemiro picked up an injury but it's not too bad. I'm sure and confident he will be back for the next games, so very short notice. The good thing is also that Sofyan Amrabat is available."