Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United are signing one of the most ‘winning’ centre-backs in the world in Raphael Varane. United announced the £43million agreement for Varane, 28, who is due to undergo a medical next week before completing his transfer from Real Madrid. Varane will have to obtain a visa to travel to England and quarantine on arrival in Manchester but could make his debut against Everton in United’s final pre-season friendly on August 7. United have already secured the signing of Jadon Sancho for £72.9million and Solskjaer believes the England winger and Varane will make a ‘huge difference’.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “Of course, very happy that we’ve managed to get a deal with Real Madrid,” Solskjaer said. “Medical should hopefully be okay, he’s a proven winner, he’s a player we’ve followed for many, many years. Sir Alex was very close to signing him. This time around, we’ve got him at the other end of his career. He’s proved over his old career, what a good person he is, professional and he’s won what there is to win. I’m very happy getting both our players in. The club shows ambition with one of the most exciting young forwards in world football and one of the most respected centre-backs in the world and one of the most winning centre-backs in the world. With him in, we’ve got different ways of playing as well. I can see different ways of playing with Raphael, I can’t wait to get him in, hopefully we can get him in as soon as. From what I know, the club is working on the quickest possible solution to get everything sorted [for the medical]. I don’t know the timescale yet, there’s a visa coming into England now with Brexit and quarantining, everything has to be done as quickly as possible and by the book. As I’ve said before, every manager would be happy the sooner and the earlier the deals are done. This year we’ve managed to get it sorted, the two we’ve got in will make a huge difference for us, both this season, short-term, but also long-term. Raphael is into is in his prime, he’s the same age as Harry, a year older than Eric and a couple years older than Victor, so there I’ve got a fantastic group of centre-backs. With Jadon, with the young forwards we’ve got, it’s exciting. As a manager, you can’t ask for more backing when you’ve got these two in as early as we have. We’ve scrambled before towards end of the window and we’re in a good position. Pre-season is always difficult in a championship year, never mind in a pandemic, with quarantine and isolation.”
