Man Utd Transfer News
Report – Man Utd confident of agreeing £43m deal following talks to sign key target
Man Utd are closing in on a deal to sign Raphael Varane for around £43m after holding talks to land the Real Madrid defender
Manchester United are confident of agreeing a deal worth around £43m [€50m] to sign Raphael Varane following talks with Real Madrid, according to ESPN.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be extremely active in the market this summer as he tries to build a squad capable of competing for major trophies next season having once again failed to land any silverware last campaign.
United have confirmed they have a deal in place with Borussia Dortmund to sign attacker Jadon Sancho but he isn’t likely to be the only big-money arrival as Solskjaer is also in the market for a top class centre-back.
The Norwegian coach continues to have doubts over Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe so Solskjaer wants a reliable partner for Harry Maguire next season and Varane has emerged as his primary target.
The 28-year-old has just one year remaining on his contract and The Athletic reported recently that the defender has snubbed an offer of a two-year extension so Madrid are ready to cash-in rather than risk losing him for nothing in 12 months time.
The likes of PSG and Chelsea have been linked but the Independent reported last weekend that Varane wants to join Manchester United and it looks like they’re now closing-in on a deal for the Frenchman.
ESPN claims that Man Utd have made Varane their top defensive target and are now increasingly confident they can agree a deal with Madrid worth in the region of £43m [€50m] following talks over a potential move.
According to the report, Madrid had initially set the asking price at £60m [€70m] but United have been given encouragement that the Spanish giants are prepared to accept a more realistic fee considering the players contract situation.
Real Madrid need to sell in order to raise money to help fund Carlo Ancelotti’s rebuilding plans and ESPN suggests they could sign Pau Torres from Villarreal as a replacement for Man Utd-bound Varane.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but Varane is now free to finalise any move to Old Trafford after France were knocked out of Euro 2020 following a shock shoot-out defeat to Switzerland.
The former Lyon centre-back has been one of the best defenders in Europe over the past few years and should prove to be an excellent addition to Solskjaer’s squad if this proposed deal gets over the line.
