£34m Manchester United ace has just seen potential January exit door close

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Raphael Varane has seen one potential exit route close with Bayern Munich opting to sign Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur after speculation linking them with the Manchester United veteran.

A couple of months ago, if you’d told us that Bayern Munich would bring an experienced Premier League centre-half to the Allianz Arena during the January transfer window, we’d have been tempted to assume you were talking about a 30-year-old Frenchman with a World Cup and Champions League winners’ medals among his enviable collection of silverware.

But it was not Manchester United’s Raphael Varane stepping out of a 4×4 with bags in hand, passport in pocket, ready for a flight to Germany and beaming from ear to ear while describing Bayern as an ‘amazing club’.

Raphael Varane won’t join Bayern Munich

“Bayern are set to sign Eric Dier from Spurs on permanent deal. Agreement being sealed,” Fabrizio Romano writes on X.

“(Thomas) Tuchel will have his new centre back.”

A reunion between Dier and Harry Kane in Bavaria, meanwhile, sees one potential exit route closed off as far as Varane is concerned.

The Daily Mail reports that the former Real Madrid colossus is unlikely to be handed a new deal at Old Trafford, with Manchester United looking to trim the wage bill and bring in a younger option at the back.

Varane may be the finest pure ‘defender’ in Erik ten Hag’s squad – and arguably the finest since the days of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic – but the best ability, as they say, is availability. And therein is where the problem lies.

Injury prone and ageing

The perennially injury-prone Varane has missed nearly 40 games since joining Man United from Real Madrid in the summer of 2021, according Transfermarkt, and it’s hard to imagine that his fitness record will improve on the other side of 30.

According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Varane’s wages were always likely to be an issue for Bayern too, with Dier younger, fitter and, importantly, far more affordable.

“I think Raphael Varane still has a lot to give to the team,” former United defender Mikael Silvestre tells GG Recon. “I think he can be a starter and he could be influential for the other players in the squad.

“If he’s fit, then for sure, he can lead. Especially whilst Manchester United are trying to rebuild. The club has a lot of young faces, and he is one of the senior players with the capacity to perform for this team.

“I think Erik ten Hag should keep hold of Varane. He’s an important player for Manchester United.”