Man Utd star Varane to Saudi? Romano drops DEFINITIVE transfer update
Tom Weber
- Updated: 22 Aug 2023 17:17 BST
- 3 min read
Fabrizio Romano has decisively put to bed any rumours regarding a potential move of Raphael Varane to Saudi Arabia.
The celebrated Manchester United defender was linked with a surprise transfer to the Pro League last week after his management allegedly held talks with Saudi giants Al-Ittihad, while former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema was said to be pushing for the move.
Nothing ultimately came of it, but on Monday (August 21) new claims surfaced, with Saudi media claiming that a bid worth £40 million could be submitted for the 30-year-old defender, though even these reports admitted that a deal would be tough to achieve.
READ: Man Utd 'under pressure' to donate Greenwood transfer fee
Indeed, Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that a deal is in fact unlikely to materialise even in the event of an official, big-money offer being lodged.
What did Romano say?
Speaking to his 1.95 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, the Italian transfer expert said: "From what I'm hearing guys - I was checking on both sides - club and the player's side - the feeling is very clear: Varane will stay at Manchester United, he wants to stay at Manchester United.
"He is a crucial player for Erik ten Hag, who always considered Varane and Lisandro Martinez as the starters of the team and, of course, Victor Lindelof is doing excellent and despite links with Rennes around, nothing took place in terms of negotiations and also for Ten Hag he is a crucial player."
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"So, these three are untouchable. For Maguire, in case they receive £30m, the player remains on the market, but we know the deal with West Ham collapsed."
"So, for Rapha Varane, no negotiations with Saudi clubs and an intention on both sides - player and club - to continue together to have Varane as [a] crucial player for this season."
