Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has dropped his telling verdict on one key Manchester United player in the first-team squad under Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag is focused on leading Manchester United to major silverware this season after the Red Devils reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
However, the 54-year-old Dutchman faces an uphill task in securing top four in the Premier League after United dropped costly points against Brentford on Saturday.
United’s hopes of securing Champions League football hang in the balance, as the Red Devils prepare for their clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
Following the trip to Stamford Bridge, United will return to Premier League action only days later when they welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday.
United boss Erik ten Hag has faced mounting criticism this season over his side’s lacklustre campaign, with the former Ajax boss’ future shrouded in mystery.
The Dutchman has had to contend with injuries to key first-team players this season and United have lacked serious consistency with their results in the campaign.
Neville talks one Man Utd star
Speaking on The Overlap, Manchester United legend Gary Neville opened up about his time at Old Trafford and playing under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Neville featured on the show alongside Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, with the two Sky Sports pundits also dropping their predictions for Euro 2024 in Germany.
During one segment, the 49-year-old former United captain revealed that he would love to pinch a player like Virgil van Dijk from the Liverpool dressing room.
Neville highlighted the qualities that Virgil van Dijk would bring to a squad like United’s, all the while explaining why Raphael Varane never did the same.
The former United right-back admitted that Raphael Varane is “quite dominant” in defence, but he doesn’t have the same “impact” on the players around him as Van Dijk does.
“I would take Van Dijk,” Neville said.
He added: “I don’t think he’ll [Varane] ever be that player.
“For me, when I watch Varane, he actually defends his part of the pitch very well and the box very well – he heads out a lot of balls and is quite dominant in the air.
“I just think he’s that kind of centre-half who will always do – and, to be fair, he might have been at Real Madrid when he was alongside [Sergio] Ramos – his own job really well, but I don’t think he’ll impact the players around him.
“And that’s not a criticism, by the way, because, to be fair, there are many great centre-halves who do their own job very well but don’t actually manage a back four.
“A great centre-half who can manage a back four is your Van Dijks, your [John] Terrys – great players of all time – but he’s just one of those great centre-halves that does his own job really well, I think.”
Raphael Varane at Man Utd
Varane’s influence at United has waned in the current season, despite remaining a key player in Ten Hag’s first-team squad.
The 30-year-old Frenchman was widely hailed last season after he struck up a formidable partnership with Lisandro Martinez in the heart of the United defence.
However, Lisandro Martinez has struggled with injuries this season and Ten Hag has been forced to rotate his defensive options amid an underwhelming campaign.
Varane, who was signed from Real Madrid for an initial fee of £34m, has only managed 15 Premier League starts in 20 matches this season for United.
The 2018 World Cup winner has previously been linked with a move away from Old Trafford, but it remains to be seen if Varane does leave the club in the summer.