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One of the more baffling decisions by Erik ten Hag in his short tenure as manager at Manchester United has been the decision to relegate Raphael Varane to the substitute’s bench this season.
In October, as they welcomed local rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford, United lined up with a central defensive pairing of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans. From the bench, Varane watched his side limp to a dismal 3-0 loss. Ten Hag explained the decision to start Evans over Varane as “tactical”, though such a choice constitutes an insult to the definition of the word.
The basis for this decision stems from the Dutch obsession with “passing angles.”
The right-footed Varane is much more comfortable on the right-hand side of central defence. This perceived weakness with his weaker foot makes it more difficult for the Frenchman to effectively play out from the back on the left. As such, both Evans and Victor Lindelof have been favoured in this role (vacated by the currently injured Lisandro Martinez) given their stronger left-footed abilities.
It’s the same logic which has seen Ten Hag exclusively deploy Maguire on the right, rather than on the left, as he has played for the vast majority of his footballing career. Given Maguire’s form – enough to earn the England international the Premier League Player of the Month award – and Varane’s alleged unsuitability to the left-sided centre-back slot, the French defender was dropped.
Yesterday’s performance against Liverpool demonstrated why this was a mistake by Ten Hag.
Varane was imperious at the heart of United’s defence, delivering a performance which earned him the Man of the Match award as United battled to a hard-fought point. The result stemmed, in large part, from the defensive qualities of the Frenchman, which brought a rare sense of calm at the heart of defence.
Varane, ironically, lined up on the left-side of defence while Evans was deployed on the right. The fact Ten Hag reversed the principle which has influenced selections this season, in the biggest game in the club’s calendar, is as odd as it was effective. The duo were fantastic, both on and off the ball.
Ten Hag recognised these contributions in the post-match press conference. “We know what he is capable of,” the Dutchman said of Varane. “He has many such performances and I think he did very well as the whole team in the partnership with Jonny Evans.”
Varane’s lack of game time this season – he started one out of the previous thirteen games before last week’s loss against Bayern Munich – is not solely down to falling out of favour with his manager. A combination of injury and illness have meant Varane has often either not been fit enough to play or fit enough to start.
This inability to stay healthy has been an issue which has constantly plagued his Old Trafford career. Across two and half seasons of football for United, Varane has missed thirty-eight games through injury. Perhaps this recurring issue was also a factor which drove Ten Hag to choose Evans alongside Maguire; the assurance the same defensive partnership would be present across multiple games.
The Frenchman’s stock had sunk so low that it was even reported that United were open to selling Varane in January. Links with the Saudi Pro League resurfaced while Bayern Munich were also mooted as a potential destination.
Samuel Luckhurst (Manchester Evening News) even reveals the defender was “concerned he was being pushed out” of Old Trafford. Ironically, it was actually Luckhurst who was pushed out of the club first, but that’s a thought for another day.
Varane’s excellent performance – in the toughest environment possible for a United defender – demonstrated why an exit in January would be a mistake. Rather, he must be one of the first names on the team sheet for Ten Hag, regardless of concerns with passing angles or fitness issues.
If the centre-back had started more matches for United in the Champions League, perhaps the club would have been finding out who they would be facing in the last sixteen today, rather than being dumped out of their group in last place.
Last season, the partnership between Varane and Martinez established a bedrock of stability for United. With the Argentine defender’s return to full fitness getting closer, United must re-establish this defensive pairing if they are to have any hope of salvaging a season characterised by instability thus far.