Raphael Varane hasn't been the player we expected, admits Rio Ferdinand

Raphael Varane signed for Manchester United from Real Madrid in the previous summer for a reported fee of £34 million. The French defender’s arrival was meant to spearhead United’s charge to restore their glory days with the four-time Champions League winner playing a major part although it didn’t go according to the script.

The World Cup-winning centre-back was restricted to just 28 appearances in all competitions due to injuries and was unable to turn around the English side’s dismal fortunes at defense as United conceded 57 goals in 38 games.

 The Red Devils were overseen by three different coaches throughout the campaign but still ended the season with a goal difference of zero as they finished sixth in the top flight of English football.

Varane will hope to rejuvenate his spell at Manchester under new boss Erik ten Hag this upcoming season with the Dutch manager having to find solutions for United’s troubles across all areas of the pitch. United great Rio Ferdinand asserted that the Frenchman will need to turn things around at the club.

“He went from one team, all players playing to their maximum consistently - and went into an absolute reverse situation where the team has zero functionality, no confidence, no guidance and no structure of where they're going. He went into an alien scenario. To go from that world-class operating and culture and standard on a daily basis to what is at Manchester United is a huge, huge shift,” Ferdinand told on his Vibe with Five Youtube channel.

“He's probably sitting there like a rabbit in the headlights thinking ‘wow, what is this?’ He hasn't been the player we expected... he would tell you that, but he couldn't tell you anything else. He'll be saying ‘I've got to up the levels next year. I need help’,” he added.