Manchester United are 'very, very close' to completing the transfer of Real Madrid star Raphael Varane, with the club aiming to finalise the deal as soon as possible.
The Red Devils confirmed the £72.9m signing of Jadon Sancho on Friday and their ambitions in the summer transfer window are not stopping there. They have enquired about the availability of Merengues defender Varane and have made considerable progress over a deal.
While speaking on The Football Terrace podcast, journalist Pete O’Rourke stated that the deal is 'very, very close' to completion, and after Varane indicated he is 'up for this move', the only thing missing is for Man Utd and Madrid to agree a fee.
“It’s very, very close, an exciting prospect for Manchester United fans that this deal is actually happening,” he said.
“Because, probably, at the start of the summer I don’t think anybody had any major hope that they’d be signing somebody like Raphael Varane.
“They’ve been given the indications that Varane is up for this move to Old Trafford, he is ready to leave Real Madrid after a long spell with the Spanish giants.
“And it all comes down to now agreeing a fee with Real Madrid. And with the player keen to go, United being ready to meet his personal terms, Real Madrid are ready to sell him now.
“They can’t allow a player like Varane to wind down his contact and potentially leave on a free transfer next summer or sign a pre-contract in January.”
Man Utd have made a written offer for Varane, but their initial bid was knocked back by Madrid. They will be confident of landing their target this summer however, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Los Blancos know they risk losing their £50m-rated defender for free next summer if they are unable to reach an agreement over a new contract. The club's precarious financial position also means they are evaluating whether they can even afford to hand Varane a new deal and may wait for Man Utd to make a higher offer in the coming days.
Varane is continuing his preparations for the new season amid these rumours, having returned to Madrid for their pre-season tests.
This article was originally published on 90min as Manchester United 'very, very close' to signing Raphael Varane.
Source: www.90min.com