Pundit tips Erik Ten Hag to reinstate out of favour Man United star

Former goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Erik Ten Hag will reintroduce Raphael Varane back into his Manchester United first-team plans.

After failing to start in any of United’s last four games, speculation surrounding Varane’s future at Old Trafford has begun to mount.

And while clubs in the Saudi Pro League are expected to try and lure the 30-year-old Frenchman to the Middle East once the January transfer window opens, Robinson expects the United boss to keep hold of the defender.

“I can’t see it because of the way Man United are at the moment,” he told Football Insider.

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“Nobody ever thought, myself included, that we’d see a centre-back partnership of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans in 2023.

“I think Ten Hag will bring Varane back into the line-up because he has to. Varane is a quality player.

“Again, at Man United, who is making the footballing decisions at the moment? The manager is probably having a state of execution.

“Any other manager at Man United who have had the performances and the run of results that he’s had potentially wouldn’t be there now, but because of what’s going on off the field, he’s still there.

“Yes, there’s excuses from off the field, but last year it didn’t effect the football – this year it is.

“The manager needs the best players to fix that, and Varane is one of those.”

United’s next match after the international break will be against Everton at Goodison Park and with Jonny Evans currently out with an injury, 26th November’s game could see Varane start his first match since the end of last month.

During his first two years at United, Varane, who has 18 months left on his contract, has directly contributed to three goals in 74 games in all competitions.