Manchester United’s next signing Raphael Varane could have been a Newcastle United player back in the day.
The Frenchman is on his way to the Premier League, swapping Real Madrid for Manchester United.
According to BBC Sport, the Red Devils have agreed a deal initially worth £34million. However, it may rise to £42million with add ons.
With one year left to run on his contract and Varane keen to move on, this is a bargain deal that could make Manchester United title contenders.
The 28-year-old is a World Cup winner, a three-time La Liga winner and a four-time Champions League winner. On top of that, he’s won plenty of other trophies and individual awards.
But would this all have happened if Varane had joined Newcastle United in the summer of 2011?
Raphael Varane was a target for Newcastle United 10 years ago
During the 2010/11 season, Varane was a teenager at Lens, experiencing senior football for the first time.
He was attracting attention from scouts all over Europe, including Newcastle.
In a 2020 interview with the Daily Mail, former chief scout Graham Carr explained how he watched Varane when he was 17-years-old.
“I saw Raphael Varane play for Lens when he was 17 and I called Derek Llambias (managing director) that night,” Carr said.
“You get excited when you spot one.”
In May 2011, L’Equipe reported that two Premier League clubs were chasing a teenage French defender.
They claimed that Manchester United and Alan Pardew’s Newcastle wanted to sign an 18-year-old Varane, who was available for £9million.
That was a fair bit of money for a teenager, but when you look at what he’s achieved over the past decade, you can see why he was rated so highly.
That summer Varane left Lens, but it was Real Madrid who secured his signature.
A player who Newcastle scouted and could have signed was suddenly playing for arguably the biggest club in world football.
Now a player who Newcastle scouted 10 years ago is on his way to the Premier League.
Varane is going to be a Manchester United player, but could still help out the club he could have joined back in 2011.
According to the Telegraph, Varane’s move to Old Trafford could allow Newcastle to sign Axel Tuanzebe on loan.
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