Paul Merson hits out at Raphael Varane with bizarre criticism claiming he is not a ‘leading centre-back’

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Manchester United are hoping to get defender Raphael Varane back from injury this weekend against Burnley.

Raphael Varane joined Manchester United for training earlier this week, although did not make the travelling squad to face Bayern Munich.

Varane has been out since suffering an injury against Nottingham Forest, and is gradually making progress towards a return.

The Frenchman could be back in the team to face Burnley this weekend. The last time he played at Turf Moor was in early 2022, when he scored and throught he had scored his first goal for the club, before it was disallowed.

Improving United’s leaky backline will be his priority this weekend, although Varane has already netted once this season.

Merson criticises Varane

Ahead of Manchester United’s match with Burnley, and Raphael Varane’s expected return, pundit Paul Merson launched into a bizarre criticism of him.

Speaking to SportsKeeda, Merson says Varane is not the type of defender Manchester United need.

He said: “You can’t concede four goals away from home in a big European game and expect to get anything out of it, they need to find ways to keep things tight at the back.

“Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof are all good defenders, but they aren’t leading central defenders. I don’t mean this badly, but they are No. 2 defenders and need someone more experienced alongside them – as we saw with Varane when he had Sergio Ramos next to him at Real Madrid.”

The comments are unfair on Varane, who led France to World Cup glory in 2018 as a leading defender with Samuel Umtiti alongside him.

Merson tips United to win

Merson is predicting Manchester United to win at Turf Moor, but is not expecting a simple victory.

He is calling a ‘hard-fought’ 2-1 win for the Red Devils, in Saturday’s 8pm kick-off.

United have lost the last two league games in a row, one of which includes the two away defeats suffered in the league this season. It’s time to start putting this right, with or without Varane.