Ferdinand: Man Utd man has ‘got scramblers going off’ in his head over Coventry-bound team-mate
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand thinks Raphael Varane’s head will be “scrambled” at the sight of Jonny Evans starting in front of him.
Varane swapped Real Madrid for the Red Devils in 2021 for £34m with supporters expecting the France international to take their defence to the next level.
However, like many things at Old Trafford in recent years, it hasn’t worked out that way with the 30-year-old suffering from a number of injuries and inconsistent form.
Varane, who has won the World Cup and four Champions League titles in his career, has managed 12 appearances this season in all competitions but five of those have come from the bench.
Harry Maguire has been consistently starting in recent weeks with either Evans or Victor Lindelof starting alongside him and former Man Utd defender Ferdinand reckons Varane will be confused at being benched, especially for Evans.
Ferdinand said on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube channel: “We don’t know. If he’s on the bench, you think he must be fit.
READ MORE: Man Utd ranking revisited: How Ten Hag views his squad, as Maguire and other fringe players thrive
“In my mind, when you’re on the bench you can play – because you could have to come on in the first minute if someone gets injured.
“So if you’re fit enough to travel and get on the bench, you’re fit [to play]. So I don’t know what the reason is.
“But I know that Varane is waking up and his head has got scramblers going off it in, because he’s thinking: ‘I’ve banged out five Champions League medals, I’ve played an integral part in all of those, I’ve played with the best players in the world, I’ve come to Man United and Jonny Evans is starting in front of me!’
“No disrespect [to Evans]. Regardless of what Evans has done, there is no way Jonny Evans was ever in Varane’s mind. He would never have been thinking about Jonny Evans.”
When put to him that Evans won’t be able to believe his luck being back at Man Utd, Ferdinand added: “[He thought he would] go back to West Brom or something, Coventry or somewhere like that.
“I’d love to be Jonny Evans now, because knowing what he’s seen back in the day and having that insight now and seeing it now.”
When asked if there had been an issue between him and Varane, Ten Hag replied last week: “Absolutely not. As I said, it is about tactical reasons why I chose these partnerships. I think Harry and Jonny did well.
“What I said last year, Harry didn’t play a lot, so I was very happy with Rapha’s performances. I have always been happy with his performance. But in this moment, Harry is playing very well and there is internal competition.”
