- Jonny Evans was recently chosen to start ahead of Raphael Varane
- Ex-Man United star Rio Ferdinand says the defender’s head will be ‘scrambled’
- City had their pants pulled down by a development team – It all starts
Rio Ferdinand believes Raphael Varane’s head must be ‘confused’ by the fact he is apparently below Jonny Evans in the pecking order at Manchester United.
Since returning from injury, World Cup winner Erik ten Hag has favored Evans, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire – although the Northern Irishman picked up an injury in the defeat to Copenhagen.
On his Vibe with FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: ‘We don’t know. When he’s on the bench you think he must be fit.
‘In my opinion you can play if you are on the bench, because you may have to come on in the first minute if someone gets injured.
‘So if you’re fit enough to travel and get on the bench, you’re fit (to play). So I don’t know what the reason is.
Erik ten Hag chooses Jonny Evans (right) over Raphael Varane (left)
Ten Hag insists that his decision involves nothing more than a competition for places
But I know Varane wakes up and there are scramblers in his head because he thinks: ‘I’ve won five Champions League medals, I’ve played an important role in all of them. I’ve played with the best players in the world, I came to Man United and Jonny Evans starts for me!”
“No disrespect (to Evans). Regardless of what Evans has done, Jonny Evans has never been on Varane’s mind. He would never have thought about Jonny Evans.”
Evans, 35, signed a one-year contract with United after leaving Leicester as a free agent at the end of last season.
He had joined his old club to stay fit, but ultimately made such an impression and played in the preparatory matches that Ten Hag wanted to keep him.
Varane, meanwhile, suffered an injury against Nottingham Forest earlier this season, which kept him on the treatment table.
And his struggle to regain a place in the starting line-up is purely down to the battle for places, and not a feud, Ten Hag emphasizes.
The Dutchman said last week: ‘Absolutely not. Like I said, it’s about tactical reasons why I chose these partnerships. I think Harry and Jonny did a good job.
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Rio Ferdinand thinks the former World Cup winner’s head should be ‘scrambled’
‘What I said last year, Harry didn’t play much, so I was very happy with Rapha’s performances.
‘I have always been happy with his performance. But at the moment Harry is playing very well and there is internal competition.’
Varane cost United £40 million in 2021 as he was a key part of Real Madrid’s success. He played 360 games in ten years and won the Champions League four times and the LaLiga three times.
Evans played for West Brom and Leicester in the same period and Ferdinand added that the Northern Irishman must be happy with how everything turned out.
“(He thought he was) going back to West Brom or something, Coventry or something like that,” he added.
“I’d like to be Jonny Evans now because I know what he saw before and I have that insight now and I see it now.”
Steve McClaren shares a joke with Varane in the warm-up before the match against Luton