Raphael Varane, Manchester United’s senior defender, is free to leave the club, but only until next summer, according to Erik ten Hag.

The 30-year-old France international, who only transferred from Real Madrid to the Red Devils in the summer of 2021, became an important member of the team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and subsequently under Ten Hag. Varane is currently behind players like Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire in the standings, though, having dropped down the list in recent weeks.

Even though Varane has only started one of United’s previous eight games, he should draw attention in the January transfer window, and Ten Hag is reportedly unwilling to consider offloading the World Cup champion in the middle of the campaign.

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After Sir Jim Ratcliffe steps in, Jadon Sancho decides on the Man Utd exit strategy in the end.According to a recent article in The Sun, Ten Hag is content for Varane to leave in the summer but is unwilling to jeopardize his position by approving a January departure any sooner.The insider goes on to say that Varane’s time at the team is “numbered” and that, should he receive formal permission to leave Old Trafford, he would consider relocating to Saudi Arabia or Italy.This week, Sky Sport Germany revealed that Bayern Munich, who were considering their own approach for the center-half, had discussed Varane internally. Varane’s substantial pay, which is believed to be in the neighborhood of £320,000 per week, is believed to make any transfer to the German champions more difficult.Participate in the discussion! Do you believe Varane should be sold by Man Utd? Tell us about it here.

Erik ten Hag is willing to sell Raphael Varane at the end of the season ( Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)

Shortly after the defender made a suggestion that he would be amenable to returning to Real Madrid, there is interest in Varane’s services. Varane did emphasize in an interview with GQ Magazine’s French edition that finishing out his career at Manchester United was “a serious option.”

He did, however, go on to say that he would try to return to Real Madrid or RC Lens, his first club, if things did not work out.

“I will finish my career either in Madrid, or in Manchester, or in Lens,” Varane predicted back in March. “I will not move to another club [other than those]. But Madrid seems complicated to me. Players don’t usually go back there. The most likely outcome today is that I will finish [my club career] in either Manchester or Lens.”