Varane plugs United’s gap
OLE LANDS £42M REAL DEFENDER
MANCHESTER United have agreed a £42million deal with Real Madrid for France centre-back Raphael Varane.
Talks over United’s second major summer signing looked to have stalled on the Spanish side’s initial £50m valuation of the defender.
There were also fears that Varane, who is out of contract next summer, was using United’s interest to land a new contract at the Bernabeu.
But sources at United indicated the deal was back on after “good discussions” between the two clubs and the player at the weekend.
And with the personal terms and add-ons agreed, only a medical stands in the way of the club unveiling their latest acquisition later this week.
Varane, 28, will become United’s second major summer swoop after the capture of £73m England winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
His name has been high on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wish-list for 12 months, with United’s boss seeing him as the perfect partner for Harry Maguire.
Varane’s arrival will nudge Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly down the pecking order but there are no plans to sell either. However, academy graduate Axel Tuanzebe, 23, is likely to move on loan.
Solskjaer, below, was hoping to add a midfielder and a right-back to his summer shopping but his pursuit of Kieran Trippier looks to have stalled after Atletico Madrid put a £30m price tag on the England defender. United were hoping to pay £15m.
Solskjaer is also waiting to see if Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in Paul Pogba firms up before committing to midfield options.
United have reached agreement with their own fans on the make-up and scope of a new Fan Advisory Board (FAB) and Fans’ Forum.
The FAB will comprise seven senior fan representatives and up to five club executives, creating what the club call “a new channel for in-depth dialogue on fan-related issues and strategic matters”.
United insist progress has also been made on the trickier issue of the creation of a share scheme which would give fans access to a new class of shares with voting rights.