Manchester United’s defensive crisis worsened last night when Jonny Evans had to come off the pitch with an apparent hamstring injury.
Raphael Varane had to come off the bench but put in a shaky performance, perhaps proving why Harry Maguire and Evans have been Erik ten Hag’s preferred pairing in the middle.
It has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes of the Frenchman who was one of the first names on the teamsheet last season.
Consistent injuries have relegated him to a rotation role and amid murmurs of discontent and interest from Saudi Pro League, the writing looked to be on the wall for the World Cup winner.
However, Football Insider reports that Ten Hag is keen to keep Varane in his ranks due to the defensive crisis at the club.
As things stand, Varane and Maguire are the only senior options available to the manager ahead of the Luton Town game at Old Trafford.
The scenario is not expected to change anytime soon, with only Victor Lindelof presumably returning in the near future. Evans and Lisandro Martinez look to be long-term absentees.
With FA Cup starting, and the prospect of an extended campaign in the Europa League also looking realistic after the loss to Copenhagen, Ten Hag has made the call to keep the players he has for now.
Varane has been targeted by Saudi Pro League, particularly by Al-Nassr, who hope to reunite him with Cristiano Ronaldo.
While the player rebuffed the interest in the summer with an emphatic Instagram post, there has been increasing mutual interest since then due to his condition at United.
However, with Ten Hag short of options, Varane is set to be handed a long run in the team by default.
If he remains fit and performs well, he can give Ten Hag the right kind of headache, something which Harry Maguire has done by taking the chance he was given with both hands and running with it.