Tim Sherwood has delivered his verdict on Manchester United’s Raphael Varane and claimed he is a ‘bang average’ centre-back.
Ahead of Saturday night’s Premier League clash between Sheffield United and Man Utd, Erik ten Hag revealed that Varane was back in contention after a spell on the sidelines due to injury.
However, Sherwood, 54, has stated that the former French international ‘annoys him’ and doesn’t understand why he doesn’t draw the same level of criticism as Harry Maguire.
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The former Spurs midfielder recently told William Hill: "One player that really annoys me is Raphael Varane. I think he is getting away with it. He is never fit and when he is fit he's bang average.
“We all know he's had a great career but at the same time everyone is happy to jump on the back of Harry Maguire whilst Varane just gets away with it.
“The ones who play more football are simply more durable and they can play week in week out, Varane seems to play once and then be injured again for two weeks. He seems to be picking his games, but when he plays he’s not that brilliant anyway.”
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Sherwood continued to say that he believes Ten Hag is not judging his squad equally.
“He’s just chucking people onto the pitch and hoping one of the superstars wins him the match. As soon as one of the superstars is fit he takes the likes of Hannibal [Mejbri] and [Scott] McTominay out of the team, and they end up losing football matches.”
Since signing for United in July 2021, Varane has made 51 league appearances across three seasons and has netted two goals.
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Speaking about the Frenchman’s return to the matchday squad, the United head honcho said: "Rapha Varane is back, so I think, especially in the backline, I’m very happy with Rapha back and Sergio back.”
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Topics: Raphael Varane, Manchester United, Premier League, Football