• United close in on 18-year-old Lens defender
Varane
• Ferguson happy to eschew global stars in favour of potential
Raphaël Varane, who can play in defence or
midfield, has proved a revelation despite Lens' struggles this
season. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images
Manchester
United confidently expect to begin their
summer transfer business by signing Raphaël Varane from
Lens
in a continuation of their policy to recruit potential
stars of the future rather than established category-A
players.
Varane is regarded as one of the outstanding young players in
the French game after breaking into the Lens team at the age of 17.
Now 18, he was unable to stop them being relegated from Ligue 1 but
has been commended for his mature performances after establishing
himself in the side over the past two months.
Sir Alex Ferguson's scouts have been regular visitors to the
Stade Félix-Bollaert during that period. Formal talks have opened
between the clubs and, subject to a fee being agreed, the deal is
described as being very close. Lens initially asked for around £10m
for a player who signed a new contract in February to tie him to
the club to 2015. United want to pay less and the latest
discussions have centred on reaching a compromise and the structure
of the payments.
After that, Varane's advisers have floated the possibility that
he could go on loan to another club, possibly Paris Saint-Germain,
next season. The player's concern about moving to Manchester is
that he will not get many first-team opportunities, but the early
feedback from Old Trafford is that Ferguson wants him to get to
know the English game.
Varane, a France Under-21 international who has also represented
his country at Under-18 and Under-17 level, is described by the
Lens youth-team coach, Eric Assadourian, as a "truly first-class
player". Fast, strong and competitive, he stands at 6ft 3in and his
ability in the air is reflected in the headed goals he has scored
from corners in two of his past three games.
Varane played those matches as a defensive central midfielder
but it is his performances as a centre-half that have brought him
to the attention of Ferguson at a time when Rio Ferdinand can no
longer be guaranteed to play a full season and Wes Brown is out of
contract next summer and contemplating ending his long association
with the club.
As well as Nemanja Vidic, Ferguson also has Chris Smalling and
Jonny Evans to provide extra competition for the centre-half
places. Yet Ferdinand's recurrent injury issues have meant the
32-year-old is used sparingly these days while Brown, at 31, has
played only seven league games this season, not even qualifying for
a championship medal.
In Varane's case, there was a need for United to act quickly, in
the knowledge that Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, is also
acutely aware of the teenager's emergence. The player has had other
offers from France, Spain and Germany and Lens have no appetite for
trying to persuade him to stay now they have been demoted to the
second tier of French football.
The fact Varane can also play in a holding midfield role will
also appeal to Ferguson, especially as Owen Hargreaves's contract
at Old Trafford runs out next month.
Ferguson has placed particular emphasis on United's scouting
network since it became clear the newly crowned champions no longer
have the financial muscle to challenge Manchester City and Chelsea
in the transfer market. The emphasis now is on identifying young
players who can form part of the club's future without necessarily
costing vast sums of money. Cristiano Ronaldo is the prime example
and, more recently, Smalling is also in that category, costing £10m
from Fulham but relatively unknown when the deal was arranged in
January last year.
If everything goes according to plan with Varane, the emphasis
will switch back to finding a replacement for Edwin van der Sar.
United's interest in David de Gea of Atlético Madrid has cooled a
little in the past few months because of his erratic performances
and Van der Sar is recommending the club go for the man who has
replaced him in the Holland team, Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax.