Raphael Varane arrived at Manchester United in the summer with a lot of expectations surrounding him. And it is not hard to understand why. During his time at Real Madrid, he had established himself as one of the best defenders in the world and had also won the World Cup with the France national team. He has not had the impact at Old Trafford till now as most fans would have expected.
Varane has had his fair share of injuries during his time at Manchester United and spent significant time on the sidelines. But even when he has been on the pitch, the defence as a whole has not quite clicked.
Manchester United’s struggling defence is one of the biggest reasons behind their disappointing start to the season which has already resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s exit after almost three years in charge.
Varane appears to have enjoyed his experience with the Norwegian manager though and compared his honesty to that of Zinedine Zidane. As reported by The Times (via Express), the French defender said:
"“Sometimes when you speak about something sensitive, it’s like a bit negative because it’s like a weakness.“But it’s not true. It’s a strength. Because when he speaks with a player, he’s honest.“It’s important to manage and for leadership to be honest with his players and specially this point it’s similar with Zizou.“Maybe that’s why I like this feeling. It was a short time working with him but I learn a lot.”"
Manchester United will try to find a long-term manager in the summer
Manchester United recently announced the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as the interim manager of the club till the end of the season. After that, he will take a consultancy role with the club while they search for a long-term solution in the managerial hot seat next summer.
A lot of managers have been linked with the Manchester United job in recent times. Interestingly, the name of Zidane has been brought up as well in that regard.
Now, it remains to be seen if the Red Devils can bring the former Real Madrid manager, who he guided to three straight Champions League titles, to Old Trafford. Right now he is without a club but has been linked with the Paris Saint-Germain as well as the France national team job.