Raphael Varane was not involved in the squad as Man United lost 3-0 to Newcastle United. Now, we know why…
Manchester United Football Club are struggling right now. Both on and off the field. Pressure is building on Erik ten Hag. He’s made some pretty poor, indefensible decisions of late. I will show some sympathy, with club ownership still up in the air, coupled with injury issues galore.
Yesterday was another similar story. Casemiro came off with a problem at half-time. More on that later. For now, we’ll focus on Raphael Varane. The Frenchman wasn’t in the matchday squad, which had us all perplexed.
Shortly after the team news was announced, Fabrizio Romano confirmed why the key star missed the game vs Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup. Apparently, he was dealing with an illness…
🚨🔴 Raphael Varane, not even on the bench tonight due to illness. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/S1s1B2Tg78
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 1, 2023
Forgive me for being cynical, but I’m not convinced he’s actually ill. Varane wasn’t involved in the derby at the weekend and whether he’s vented his frustration at the gaffer and caused some sort of argument, remains to be seen.
I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if Varane is one of those players that has now downed tools as he knows this side isn’t going anywhere this season. He was linked with a big-money Saudi Arabia move over the summer. I fully expect those links to take place again as we approach the January transfer window.
Perhaps this is just an innocent illness and we see Varane back in the side this coming Saturday, but I honestly think there’s more to it than that. Perhaps Ten Hag didn’t go public with it as he feels this situation is repairable unlike the Jadon Sancho fallout, but it’ll be super intriguing to see whether Varane is back out on the field this weekend.
Do you think Raphael Varane actually wants to be here? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
