Raphael Varane: Rio Ferdinand backs Manchester United target to star in Premier League - 'He’s got the tools'

ByEurosport

Published 27/07/2021 at 10:08 GMT

“On paper it looks a very, very good combination, but he’s got to understand the English game is very different,” former Manchester United man Rio Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel. “You’ve got to go to Burnley and places like that. Can he deal with it? They’re the questions he’s going to get asked."

Raphael Varane of Real Madrid looks on during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid and Granada CF at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on December 23, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.

Image credit: Getty Images

Rio Ferdinand is convinced Raphael Varane has the tools to flourish in the Premier League, as the defender closes in on a move from Real Madrid to Manchester United.

The Red Devils have made the France international their top defensive target, and confidence is growing at Old Trafford that a deal can be done.

It was reported on Monday that United had agreed a £34 million fee with Madrid, paving the way for the transfer to be concluded.

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Varane has had a glittering, trophy-laden career with Real and France - and his pedigree suggests he will thrive in the Premier League.

Ferdinand is of the opinion that Varane will live up to his billing, but warned that the 28-year-old will have to adapt to a different type of football than what he has grown accustomed to in Spain.

“On paper it looks a very, very good combination, but he’s got to understand the English game is very different,” Ferdinand

on his FIVE YouTube channel. “You’ve got to go to Burnley and places like that.

Sometimes it can be up and at ’em, a different style of football in the Premier League to anything he’s played in before.

"Can he deal with it? They’re the questions he’s going to get asked.

"Balls getting wrapped around his ear holes, crosses from different angles that he hasn’t seen on a consistent basis in Spain where they play more on the floor, slower football, slower build up.

"So he’s going to be asked to defend in a different way and that’s where he’s going to have to show his real class, can he adapt? That's the real question.

"I genuinely believe he’s got the tools to do that."