Man Utd exposed for two transfer mistakes as European giants sold £94m duo no longer ‘at the top’

Gabby Agbonlahor thinks Real Madrid sold Raphael Varane and Casemiro to Manchester United because they are “not at the top anymore”.

Man Utd‘s record in the transfer market in recent years has been pretty poor. They have recently splashed out around £94m in initial fees to sign Varane and Casemiro from Real Madrid.

Varane – who struggled in United’s 4-3 loss to Copenhagen on Wednesday night – was once considered to be one of the best defenders in the world but he has struggled with injuries in recent years and he is currently behind Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans in the pecking order.

Casemiro meanwhile was signed during the 2022 summer window from Real Madrid after Man Utd missed out on Barcelona standout Frenkie de Jong.

The Brazil international enjoyed a brilliant debut season for the Premier League giants but he has been one of the biggest disappointments in the division during the first few months of this campaign.

The Red Devils could now look to offload the two former Real Madrid stars in the coming months and Agbonlahor thinks they are no longer “at the top”.

“There is a reason now why [Raphael] Varane is not starting and Jonny Evans and [Harry] Maguire are starting,” Agbonlahor said via talkSPORT.

“I called it months ago that Varane is not the player Manchester United fans think he is. He has had an amazing career at Real Madrid, they don’t let players go.

“They let Casemiro and Varane go because they are not at the top anymore, and yesterday showed. He [Varane] came on and did not know where he was. He could have given away a penalty when he came on, but Maguire did.

“The last goal he is nowhere to be seen, and [Diogo] Dalot’s defending for the third goal, against at the far post poor defending.”

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Paul Scholes meanwhile does not think Erik ten Hag “can rely” on Varane at the moment.

“How can he [Ten Hag] pick a settled back four?” Scholes told TNT Sports. “We saw [Raphael] Varane play against Galatasaray and he was all over the place.

“Even Casemiro when he played he looked a bit loose and not playing his position well.

“These are two players who have won the European Cup five times [Varane has won it on four occasions], if you can’t rely on these type of players, where do you go?

“You can see where he’s gone, back to Jonny Evans who was a free transfer!”

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