Varane to Man United delay explained with transfer to be ‘done soon’
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Raphael Varane’s transfer to Manchester United has yet to be officially completed ahead of their Premier League opener against Leeds, but he is fully confident the deal will be wrapped up soon.
France centre-back Varane is set to move to Old Trafford from Real Madrid – where he had entered the final 12 months of his contract and refused an extension – in a high-profile deal worth an initial £34million that could rise to £42m with add-ons.
United announced the agreement with Madrid on July 27, with the player then agreeing personal terms and undergoing a two-part medical earlier this week after paperwork issues and quarantine requirements had initially delayed his arrival.
It had been hoped that the final elements of the deal would be completed in time for Varane to play some part on opening weekend as the Red Devils host fierce rivals Leeds at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.
That won’t happen, however, with Solskjaer confirming at his pre-match press conference that there were still some last details to iron out.
“He’s not trained with us and all the dots over the i’s and we haven’t crossed the t’s yet,” said the United boss.
“Things happen and things take time and unfortunately with the isolation that delayed these things.
“It’s not 100 per cent done yet… I can’t say that he will be involved tomorrow, I can probably say he won’t be (involved) because he’s not trained with us.”
Solskjaer added: “It always happens that there’s little things in there.
“But the big hold up was the isolation and the quarantine, of course. He’s been in Manchester now. It’ll be done soon.”
While Varane had entered the final year of his deal in Madrid, the same is also true of French team-mate Paul Pogba at United.
The 28-year-old continues to be linked with a move away and will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs in January if he does not pen fresh terms in Manchester before then.
However, Solskjaer is not paying attention to the constant speculation regarding Pogba’s future, insisting the duo have held positive talks ahead of the new campaign.
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“He’s a Man United player, he’s got one year left of his contract,” Solskjaer said. “It’s been spoken about and written about so often.
“Every discussion and conversation I’ve got with Paul is a positive one.
“He knows what we want and hopefully he keeps on in the background and they’ll make decisions whenever, or Paul and us together.
“It’ll always be like with this with Paul. He’s a media magnet.”