Manchester United keen to offload ageing duo to Saudi Arabia but face potential obstacle
Posted by  badge Boss on Dec 15, 2023 - 05:36AM
The Red Devils are keen to rejig their squad in January (Picture: Getty)

are keen to listen to offers for experienced duo and though may not receive any interest from the , according to reports.

The Red Devils are expected to have a quiet January window but they are prepared to make some tweaks to their squad if they can offload players.

, either permanently or on loan, is the main priority, while Donny van de Beek has received interest from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.

United are also open to cashing in on Casemiro and Varane, with both players having .

The French centre-back has seen Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw preferred to him in recent weeks, while the Brazilian midfielder has not played since October after picking up an injury.

According to , both players are still viewed as important members of the squad but United do not see them as irreplaceable and would be willing to sell the pair.

Both players have been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia in the past, but there are now doubts over whether the country’s four biggest clubs – which are all funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund – are willing to make offers.

Varane and Casemiro could both be sold if offers materialise (Picture: Getty)

The problem is that all four teams have already maxed out their eight-player limit on foreign players, with Al-Ittihad actually exceeding it meaning ex-Celtic star Jota has not been registered for domestic matches.

The other three clubs, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli, invested big in superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema and would need to offload a marquee name in order to make room in their squad.

At this stage, it appears unlikely that any of the Saudi clubs would be prepared to do that at the mid-point of the season, particularly as it will be incredibly difficult to find buyers for their unwanted players.

Both Varane and Casemiro are thought to be for one last big payday, with many of their ex-Real Madrid and international team-mates already playing there, though will not push for a move.

Casemiro is currently dealing with a hamstring problem and is not expected to return until the start of the new year, while Varane has had a number of niggles, including a sore back, that has restricted his game time.

Although United are dealing with an injury crisis, their elimination from Europe could see manager Erik ten Hag take a risk and trim his squad even if it means waiting until the summer to bring in replacements.

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