Louis Saha accuses Erik ten Hag of “scapegoating” Raphael Varane and questions Mason Mount’s impact – Man United News And Transfer News

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Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has accused the club and Erik ten Hag of scapegoating Raphael Varane.

Varane has seemingly lost his place in the starting XI, going by Ten Hag’s continued preference for a centre-back partnership of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans.

The United boss has on more than one occasion, explained that Varane’s exclusion from the team is due to “tactical reasons.”

It was expected that with Evans injured, Varane would be given the nod to slot alongside Maguire during the Red Devils’ clash against Luton Town.

Instead, Ten Hag went for Victor Lindelof who went on to score the all-important match-winning goal.

A recent report covered by The Peoples Person revealed that Varane has apparently accepted that he is currently a bench player but remains fully focused on getting back a guaranteed starting berth.

Saha spoke about Varane’s situation and said, “It could be a breakdown in the relationship between player and manager. I know he’s been injured often, but he needs to be given the chance to get back to his best after a spell out. It’s true that everybody needs competition but you can’t fiddle with the defence too much because that department provides you with a solid foundation.”

I don’t understand why Raphaël’s been dropped, so maybe something’s been said behind closed doors. It’s as if he’s being scapegoated in some way and I don’t like it. I would understand the decision to drop him if there was another defender playing outstandingly well, but that’s not the case. Nobody’s really stood out. I respect the decision of the manager because you need to make changes when your team isn’t playing well.”

Saha added, “However, the defence is one area that you don’t mess with because it can put stress on the goalkeeper, especially André Onana who’s new to the Premier League. I don’t understand what’s happened with Raphaël in the last couple of weeks to justify the reasoning for him being dropped.”

Another player Saha spoke at great length about was Mason Mount.

The 45-year-old questioned why there isn’t enough criticism being directed at Mount in comparison to the likes of his underperforming teammates such as Antony and Marcus Rashford.

Saha slammed the press for protecting Mount while targeting other United stars who have also not been up to the level this season.

As per Saha, Mount was signed by Ten Hag for the sole purpose of having an important role in the team but at the moment, the English midfielder is not coming up with the goods.

The Frenchman suggested that Mount’s struggles at Old Trafford could be down to him being played in the wrong position – deeper in the midfielder as opposed to higher up the pitch where he can be more effective and impactful.