Former England defender Danny Mills believes that Raphael Varane will struggle to adapt to the Premier League once he completes a move to Manchester United, but Ray Parlour disagrees.
The Real Madrid star is United’s top defensive target, with a £43.1.million (€50m) deal believed to be close to completion. The 28-year-old is currently in the final year of his contract, hence the relatively low fee for a 28-year-old who has plenty of top-level experience.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes that Varane is the perfect partner for Red Devils skipper Harry Maguire. Indeed, both players excelled at Euro 2020, although Maguire was particularly impressive as England reached the final.
Varane has won four Champions Leagues during his time at the Bernabeu. He also lifted the World Cup with France in 2018.
But despite all that experience, Mills thinks the player will be in for a culture shock when he arrives in England.
“Yes he’s a good signing but is it the right signing?” Mills said on talkSPORT.
“Varane is a good player but again we don’t really know what he’s going to be like, how robust is he going to be in the Premier League, week in, week out?
“He’s used to playing eight tough games a season, apart from the Champions League.
“He and [Sergio] Ramos could get through games at the back for Real Madrid with a cigar on. You can’t do that in the Premier League.
“Every single foreign player that comes in, and I think [Kai] Havertz said that and Timo Werner said that. They went: ‘Wow, we didn’t realise the intensity of every single game’.”
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Varane just what Man Utd need
United have not won the Premier League since legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. However, fellow talkSPORT pundit Ray Parlour believes that Varane’s arrival could change all that.
He added: “Well certainly Varane is a top-quality player. I was really impressed with him during the Euros. He’s an excellent defender, so that will be a great signing for Manchester United.
“I think that Maguire and [John] Stones were a very good partnership during the Euros and I can imagine Maguire and Varane will be a decent partnership.
“If you’ve got a good defence you’ve always got a chance, and with the attacking players they’ve got, and with Sancho coming in, it will give them a much better chance of getting closer and challenging for that title.”
READ MORE: Manchester United see €30m left field offer rejected as they throw out Varane smokescreen
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