Man Utd to ‘green light’ €30m winter sale with ‘unhappy’ Red Devil wanted by European giants

According to reports, Manchester United are willing to let Raphael Varane leave during the upcoming January transfer window.

Varane joined Man Utd in 2021 from Spanish giants Real Madrid in a deal worth around £34m.

The Frenchman was once considered to be among the best defenders in the world and United appeared to have pulled off a major coup when they recruited him.

But the centre-back has been impacted by injuries over the past couple of seasons as he has been restricted to 54 appearances in the Premier League.

Varane and Lisandro Martinez were Erik ten Hag‘s first-choice centre-backs last season but injuries have forced the head coach to reshuffle personnel.

Martinez has suffered a serious injury and is expected to be out until the New Year, while Varane has made just four Premier League starts.

Before the recent international break, Varane was left on the periphery while Ten Hag appeared to favour Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof.

Earlier this month, it was claimed that Varane has a ‘strained relationship’ with Ten Hag and it’s even been indicated that Man Utd could look to cut their losses on the defender – who is out of contract in 2025 – in January.

Varane has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich of late and German journalist Florian Plettenberg claims Man Utd are “aware he is unhappy”.

The journalist tweeted: “Man Utd is aware of the fact that Raphael Varane is unhappy with his situation.

“Understand that he would receive the green light for a transfer in winter. But: #MUFC wants to sale him. A loan is not an option at the moment. Price valuation: €20-30m. Bayern is still monitoring his situation as reported. Nothing more at this stage.”

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Gabby Agbonlahor recently suggested that Real Madrid knew Varane was past his peak when they sold him to Man Utd in 2021.

“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.”