Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United defender Raphael Varane provides fitness update ahead of Tottenham Hotspur clash
Speaking to the club’s official website, Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has declared himself fit and ready for his side’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Varane was one of the stars missing for the team in the Manchester derby last weekend, as United went down to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in a crushing defeat. The Frenchman especially was sorely missed, as the team’s defence leaked four goals at the end of ninety minutes.
The World Cup winner said he was training normally after recovering from COVID which kept him out from the previous game, and vowed to help the team and look ahead of the last result.
“Yeah, I’m OK. I’m training normally. I feel better and I’m ready to help the team and to look forward.”
Varane moved to United at the beginning of the season from Real Madrid after a trophy-laden spell in Spain. The France international has been a regular for the side since his debut, featuring in all but one of United’s games in 2022 prior to the derby last weekend.
“Very good game”
The defender has featured against Tottenham before, when the Red Devils took on the Lilywhites at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year and came away with a 3-0 win. Varane was impressive in the game, keeping a clean sheet against a side that boasted of players like Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.
The new signing reflected on the previous fixture against Spurs, saying that it was a great result for the team and that they were able to respect the plan they had in mind ahead of the game. Hopefully, we see the same from him and the rest of the squad on Saturday at Old Trafford.
“Yeah, it was a very good game. I think we played very well and we respected the plan of the game. I think we were very, very solid and the result was a great result.”
One of four signings made by the team last summer, Varane was brought in to partner club captain Harry Maguire to bolster the rearguard. Given that the player is a seasoned international and experienced centre-back, he was expected to shore up the back and keep clean sheets.
However, his time at the Theatre of Dreams has only been satisfactory so far, with the team still leaking goals at the back. His partner Maguire has faced the brunt of the criticism, but football is a team game and the blame falls on Varane as well.
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Undoubtedly, the defence has looked more stable and reassured with him in it, and his presence in the team sheet puts fans’ minds at ease about the events due to happen on the pitch. We do wish, however, to see the Varane of Real Madrid stepping out on the field to make sure our rearguard is impenetrable.
Back from COVID and declaring himself fit for the game, we hope to see his name in the starting XI once again tomorrow and help us complete the double over Spurs this term. Like us, they are also chasing a top-four spot and have multiple games in hand over us, so a win will be crucial.
