Former France defender Raphael Varane has admitted that he is thrilled for two of his Manchester United teammates after their stunning run of form in recent weeks.
Raphael Varane has remained a key part of Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United squad for the current campaign and has been challenging for regular first-team minutes.
The 30-year-old has made 10 starts in the Premier League in 15 appearances, with Varane scoring an important winner against Wolves at the beginning of the season.
However, Varane’s long-term future at Old Trafford has been shrouded in mystery and the Frenchman’s contract is believed to be expiring at the end of the season.
The former Real Madrid star has attracted interest amid uncertainty around his future at United, with Varane previously attracting interest from Saudi Arabia.
Varane praises two Man Utd stars
Speaking to Manchester United’s official website, Raphael Varane admitted that he was thrilled with the progress of Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Hojlund went his first 14 Premier League matches without scoring before he found the back of the net in the 3-2 comeback win against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
The 21-year-old United star has since seen a remarkable turnaround in form in the league and has now scored in his last five successive Premier League matches.
Varane said “everyone” was happy when Hojlund, who was signed last summer, scored in the 3-0 Premier League win over West Ham at Old Trafford this month.
“Yeah, everyone was very happy for that goal [against the Hammers],” he told TeamViewer Diaries.
“I think he worked very hard in the last [few] weeks for scoring and, hopefully, he can build confidence from that goal and doing even better and scoring more goals to the end of the season.”
Varane also shared his two cents on United teammate Alejandro Garnacho, who has shown moments of pure brilliance on the pitch this season.
Garnacho has established himself under Erik ten Hag and the 19-year-old produced a true show-stealing moment earlier this season with his sensational overhead kick.
Speaking on the United winger, Varane added: “I think he’s scoring important goals and he’s doing a great job, so he’s helping the team and, hopefully, he can continue like that for the [few] next and until the end of the season.”
Varane on Man Utd’s FA Cup hopes
United defeated Wigan Athletic 2-0 at the DW Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup before picking up a 4-2 win over Newport County in the fourth round.
The Red Devils will now face Nottingham Forest in the fifth round of the competition at City Ground on 28th February, with United keen to reach the quarter-finals.
Varane started and played the full 90 minutes in the FA Cup final last season, with the Red Devils falling short in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.
The 2018 World Cup winner has called the FA Cup “very important” and is keen for United to make progress in the competition this season.
“It’s a very important competition,” he said.
“I think in England, in general, it’s something big. We are all looking forward to fight[ing] for that competition.
“That’s the mentality to raise the level all [of the] time and when we finish something you go for the next challenge, so we’re going to go game by game and we’ll see how far we can go.”