Man United transfer news: Raphael Varane close to Old Trafford move from Real Madrid | OneFootball

Manchester United are reportedly closing in on a deal for Real Madrid star Raphael Varane.

News of Jadon Sancho's imminent move to Old Trafford broke on Wednesday evening, but it appears United are busy concluding two major transfer coups rather than just one.

According to a report from ESPN reporter Mark Ogden, United are close to finalising a deal for Varane following France's premature exit from Euro 2020 at the hands of Switzerland.

The report claims that Varane is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's top defensive target and United have been encouraged to move for the highly respected centre-back after learning that Madrid are prepared to negotiate a fee.

United have been considering Villarreal's Pau Torres as an alternative option but France's failure to move beyond the last-16 has forced the Red Devils to act.

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Despite the fact that Varane's contract is up in June 2022, Los Blancos had initially valued him at €70m, but United are now confident that a deal can be done for a fee in the region of €50m (£43m).

Madrid need to offload players in order to fund a squad rebuild for Carlo Ancelotti, who took the reins from Zinedine Zidane this summer.

There is a suggestion that the La Liga giants could use the money raised from the sale of Varane to fund the acquisition of Torres, who has emerged as a target for a number of Europe's elite outfits following a stellar individual campaign under Unai Emery.

Torres' preference is to remain in Spain rather than moving to the Premier League, so that may well have influenced United's decision to press on with a move for Varane.

If United do manage to get this deal over the line, then Solskjaer will have one of the best centre-back partnerships in the division at his disposal by opting to pair Varane with Harry Maguire.

Manchester City's signing of Ruben Dias and Liverpool's move for Virgil van Dijk were both transformative for each club's aspirations, and there will be plenty of hope amongst the Red Devils faithful that Varane can make a similar impact.

Given he has won the Champions League four times with Real and also lifted the World Cup with France in 2018, United's move will at least bring a winning mentality and rich experience into the dressing room.

It's shaping up to be a big couple of months of transfer activity for United ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League season.

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