Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has brutally taken aim at Raphael Varane after suggesting that the Manchester United defender has “no durability.”
Varane has been one of the many United players who has come under fire in recent weeks after the Red Devils’ struggling start to the 2023-24 Premier League season.
Erik ten Hag’s men are 10th in the Premier League table and are five points adrift from the top four, with the United boss facing pressure over his side’s run of form.
However, United have been plagued with injuries in the backline and looked far from convincing in defence as they did in the 2022-23 campaign under Ten Hag.
Varane has had to contend with injuries early this season and the United star’s performances have been placed under the spotlight when he has played.
Sherwood criticises Varane over his time at United
Paul Scholes even raised his concerns over Varane after claiming that he looked “sluggish” in the Red Devils’ 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League.
However, Sherwood has taken it one step further by suggesting that Varane has “not done anything” at United since his £34m move from Real Madrid in 2021.
“Casemiro… for me, Varane away with it, he has not done anything since he’s been at that football club,” he told Premier League Productions (via the Metro).
“We talk about [Bukayo] Saka when people say, ‘Consecutive games, he needs a rest, he needs a rest,’ this boy [Varane] is in, he’s out, he’s injured again, I think there’s no durability there, what’s he done for Manchester United? I think there are far too many of them.
“But we’re alright getting on the back of Harry Maguire, we’ll a little pop at him, but he’ll go there, give everything and front it up.
“I think the manager is taking them backwards, I really do. I think last year he was great, a trophy and another cup final, into the Champions League, you can’t argue it, but you expect progression every single year.”
Why Sherwood is wrong about Varane
Sherwood’s weak criticism of Varane is simply wrong on all fronts and it is easy to throw about when the former Madrid star has been hit with injuries this season.
Varane was a breath of fresh air for United fans after his arrival from Los Blancos and added much-needed stability under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag.
That’s not to mention the 30-year-old French centre-back struck up a formidable partnership with United teammate Lisandro Martinez in the backline last season.
Martinez’s current injury blow will put more pressure on Varane, especially at a time when the 2018 World Cup winner is overcoming his own struggles this season.
It will be important for Ten Hag to utilise Varane for key United matches and rest the former France international when he can sacrifice his services in the backline.
The United manager did exactly that before the international break in his side’s 2-1 comeback win over Brentford, with Varane left out due to a “minor issue” he had.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
