Transfer Centre

Jose Mourinho 'wanted Raphael Varane as first Manchester United signing'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 08 September 2019

Jose Mourinho wanted to make Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane his first signing as Manchester United boss in 2016, according to a report.

Jose Mourinho was reportedly desperate to make Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane his first signing as Manchester United boss in the summer of 2016.

Varane starred under Mourinho in the early stages of his career with Los Blancos, and the France international has since made close to 300 appearances for his Spanish club in all competitions.

According to AS, upon arriving at Old Trafford in 2016, Mourinho immediately set his sights on securing a deal for the 26-year-old, who was seen as a player capable of transforming their defence.

However, the report claims that Zinedine Zidane convinced Varane to snub the interest from the Premier League to remain in the Spanish capital.

United instead moved for Eric Bailly during that particular transfer window, and the Ivory Coast international has largely struggled to make his mark at Old Trafford due to a succession of injury problems.

The 20-time English champions broke the transfer record for a central defender by paying £80m to land Harry Maguire from Leicester City last month.