Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United told by Tim Sherwood to drop Raphael Varane and pair Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in defence
Speaking before United’s 4-2 win vs Leeds United on Sky Sports (h/t Daily Mail), former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood said that Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick should consider dropping new signing Raphael Varane in defence.
Varane moved to United the previous summer, after a glittering career at Real Madrid where he practically won everything that was on offer to him. The defender also won the World Cup with France during his time with the La Liga giants.
Sherwood, who captained Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995, has urged Rangnick to drop Varane as United had a better defensive partnership than one that included the Frenchman.
“It’s about finding the best partnership but then the manager has to be strong and leave out a player who’s won the Champions League and the World Cup.”
United’s defenders have faced a lot of flak from pundits and fans alike this season, but have looked better since Rangnick took over at the club towards the end of last year. The German has been successful in arresting the number of goals that the team have conceded but needs to work on keeping clean sheets.
Lindelof a better option
Varane has been a regular feature for the Red Devils when fit this season but has struggled to reproduce his Real Madrid form at the Manchester club, in what has been a frustrating campaign for the whole team so far.
Sherwood was of the opinion that Victor Lindelof is a better option at the back, forming a more stable defensive pairing with club captain Harry Maguire. The pundit claimed Varane had been terrible since his move to United.
“It’s about the best partnership with centre-backs. Harry Maguire is better with Victor Lindelof. If we talk about Raphael Varane, he’s got off the hook because he’s been terrible. He’s been terrible since coming to the club.”
United’s defence has been a sad story this campaign, conceding cheap goals and struggling to keep clean sheets. David de Gea has played a huge part in the rearguard not conceding goals this season, pulling off crucial saves in almost every game that he has played.
United fans know that Varane is a world-class defender, but will be left frustrated by what they have seen of the player so far, given his reputation from his time in Spain. His partner, Maguire, has not been at his best either, which only further adds to United’s problem.
More Manchester United News
- Ralf Rangnick hints at Harry Maguire snub in favour of Victor Lindelof ahead of Manchester United vs Leeds United
- Ralf Rangnick is happy with selection headache thanks to competition in the Manchester United squad
- Tottenham Hotspur superstar Harry Kane and PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino tipped to join Manchester United
Surprisingly, Rangnick dropped Varane from the starting XI against Leeds today, but that may have been keeping in mind our Champions League round of 16 game against Atletico Madrid later this week.
He was brought on in the 85th minute for Cristiano Ronaldo and while calls to drop him seem audacious and largely baseless right now, Lindelof did give a decent performance against Maguire in our much-needed derby win today.
