What can Raphael Varane bring to Manchester United?

Written by Jack Dixon

Serial winner Raphael Varane has officially joined Manchester United from Real Madrid. The French international’s arrival has understandably been well received by Manchester United fans, especially at such a reduced price, due to Varane having a year left on his contract.

So what does Raphael Varane bring to Manchester United? Straight away I think he’ll be the perfect partner for Harry Maguire. The establish partnership of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelöf has done well, but can have their lack of pace exposed, which has a knock-on effect for the rest of the team. Varane’s impressive recovery pace will mean United will no longer have to worry about the ball over the top and will allow United to play with a higher line. This will help keep possession in the opponent’s half and pile pressure on their defence and hopefully lead to even more goals than last season and provide constant service for whoever is leading the line. The recovery pace of Varane will also mean the need for protection from the two sitting midfield players, normally Scott McTominay and Fred, unnecessary.  This means only one will need to sit with the centre-backs and will free up a central midfielder to operate more box-to-box and join in attacks.

He is experienced, a winner and is hopefully the final piece of the jigsaw for Manchester United in terms on closing that gap on Manchester City. Let’s hope Manchester United can mount a title challenge.

Jack

Please note: The football articles that feature on this site are being written by Jack Dixon as part of his work experience. He is a teenager and looking for work experience within the football industry. He is currently studying for his media and art A-levels.