Manchester United's £9million target Raphael Varane will hold talks with Real Madrid on Tuesday amid fears at Old Trafford that he could be swayed by French legend Zinedine Zidane.
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| The Real Madrid legend is now the club advisor. |
United were confident of beating neighbours City, Arsenal, Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain to sign the highly-rated teenage defender from Lens.
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| Highly rated by Man Utd and Real Madrid. |
But now Real have entered the race for Varane, 18, and are hopeful that Zidane – the former Bernabeu favourite who now acts as an advisor to club president Florentino Perez – will convince his fellow Frenchman to move to Spain instead.
Sportsmail revealed United’s interest in April and that they were in pole position to beat off competition from Arsenal for the highly-rated defender.
Manchester City, Lyon and the nouveau riche Paris St Germain have also monitored his progress but United have showed their commitment to youth once again with a £9million offer and are confident a deal will be concluded shortly.
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The France Under 21 international played 23 times for Lens last term, but could not help them dodge relegation to Ligue 2. |
He is contracted to the Stade Felix Bollaert-based side until 2015 and that plus interest from other clubs is reflected in the size of United’s bid.
Varane, like United’s other new recruit Phil Jones, is equally adept playing in a defensive midfield role with quick feet and good distribution.
He is 6ft 3ins tall and at 18 is still growing. His only dilemma is whether a move to United has come to soon.
Varane has made 17 appearances for Lens this season being used as both centre back and in a defensive midfield role. He said: ‘What interests me is playing regularly and so I have to think carefully and go to a club that will allow me to progress. 
He started playing for Lens under 18′s at the age of just 16, such was his ability and the defender seems to have had somewhat meteoric rise through the clubs ranks.
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