Manchester United close in on Real Madrid star as their second major transfer this summer - Reports

Manchester United are agonizingly close to signing Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, according to AS journalist Edu Cornago (via The Real Champs).

Real Madrid have already lost one key centre-back in Sergio Ramos, who left the Bernabeu for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Real Madrid are now set to lose Raphael Varane to Manchester United in a deal worth €70 million.

This will be Manchester United's second major transfer since completing the signing of England winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. The Red Devils have also signed Tom Heaton from Aston Villa.

Los Blancos are in a difficult situation with Raphael Varane. The 28-year-old defender is into the final year of his Real Madrid contract and is stalling on a new deal despite Los Blancos wanting him to stay at the club for the foreseeable future. Real Madrid do not want to lose Varane on a free transfer come next summer and are ready to sell their defender to Manchester United to cut their losses.

Manchester United are in dire need of a new centre-back to partner club captain Harry Maguire. While Eric Bailly has been injury-prone, Victor Lindelof was quite inconsistent last season.

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Club are pushing hard to get Varane done. Taking actions now to get him into training rapidly in expectation of the deal. Ole really really wants the player. Zero signals as of now that Varane would accept a deal at Madrid or has been anything other than straightforward.

— UnitedMuppetiers (@Muppetiers) July 10, 2021

Real Madrid are right to let Raphael Varane leave for Manchester United

Despite being at the heart of their defense for 10 seasons, Real Madrid have done the right thing by allowing Raphael Varane to leave for Manchester United this summer.

Raphael Varane earns less compared to other stars at Real Madrid and would have asked for a massive pay rise. However, in these current financial times, Real might not have wanted to fork out higher wages when the club is instead saving up to sign either Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland.

Manchester United are in a good position to offer Varane the wages he wants. Because of the astronomical money Premier League clubs make from broadcasting deals, the Red Devils are in a much better position to offer higher wages compared to Real Madrid.

Signing Varane would be a huge sign of intent for Manchester United since the Red Devils have recently fallen way behind rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

Real Madrid is offering a salary of €7m/season to Varane but the Frenchman is demanding €12m/season if he were to renew - same salary as Alaba. [@abc_es] 🇫🇷

— Infinite Madrid (@InfiniteMadrid) July 12, 2021

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