Evra raises concern over axed Man Utd star with "something is wrong" claim
Patrice Evra believes something is worrying at Manchester United with Raphael Varane.
Varane was conspicuous by his absence from the United squad, which faced Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday night. The Frenchman used to be part of Erik ten Hag's first-choice centre-back pairing alongside Lisandro Martinez but has faded from view in recent months.
He has not started since the 1-0 win over Copenhagen on October 24 and was an unused substitute in the 1-0 defeat by Newcastle on Saturday, with Ten Hag preferring to field Luke Shaw in central defence. Ten Hag said Varane was missing from the 2-1 win over Chelsea with a "sore back", but former United defender Evra thinks there could be something else going on behind the scenes.
“Something is wrong. Luke Shaw, no matter if he plays good or bad, I don't want to see him at centre-back,” Evra told Prime Video. “He's a left-back. when you play for a club like Manchester United and have defenders like Lindelof, Maguire, and Varane, and you still have to use Luke Shaw at centre-back, there's something wrong.
“I played centre-back in some games for United but because of an emergency. I played centre-back for Juventus because I was old. Luke Shaw is still young, the movements are completely different so you can get injured really easily.
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Raphael Varane was missing with a sore back against Chelsea (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Raphael Varane force his way back into the Manchester United starting line-up? Comment below.
“I’m really happy that Luke Shaw is back in his real position, we'll get more balance. I don't take away any credit when he plays centre-back because he was fantastic against Newcastle. But you have a four-time Champions League winner and he's not in the team.”
Varane has struggled to maintain fitness throughout his time at United, which began in July 2021 when he joined for £34million from Real Madrid. The 30-year-old hasn’t been able to hold down a place in the side due to niggling injuries, with Martinez also a long-term absentee.
Injuries in central defence have seen Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof start the majority of games recently, while veteran Jonny Evans has also been used more than expected. Despite picking up a much-needed win over Chelsea, there were still issues in defence, with Cole Palmer scoring in the first half and Mykhaylo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson spurning great chances.
Varane reportedly still wants to stay and fight for his place in the United team and he is under contract until June 2025. The World Cup winner will only consider leaving if he is told that he is no longer wanted – and that isn’t the case yet.
Asked recently if there was an issue with Varane, Ten Hag said: “Absolutely not. As I said, it is about tactical reasons why I chose these partnerships. I think Harry and Jonny did well. What I said last year, Harry didn’t play a lot, so I was very happy with Rapha’s performances. I have always been happy with his performance. But in this moment, Harry is playing very well and there is internal competition."
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