South American reports over the weekend did however throw a curveball into proceedings with there being a suggestion that 22-year-old Uruguayan right-back Guillermo Varela would return to Manchester from his loan with Real Madrid Castilla to be a starter.
It is unclear as whether this was meant as a regular starter or a member of the first-team squad however reports coming back from Spain suggest Varela has improved monumentally over the past 12 months and that he could well be ready for such an opportunity.
Castilla’s head-coach Zinedine Zidane has raved about Varela in a season where the arrival of the heralded Martin Odegaard completely through his team’s season into disarray. Varela was a constant performer with the Frenchman left disappointed that he isn’t able to bring him back to the Spanish capital.
‘I knew there was a Uruguayan full-back at Manchester United,’ said Zidane. ‘I asked to see him and loved him. Luckily we could add him to Real Madrid, where I see a huge future. I’m delighted with Guillermo Varela. He is very serious and professional. He also has a lot of quality and I have no doubts he will make it to the top.’
With Varela returning to United there is now a chance for him to stake a claim to a regular first-team shirt but is he ready?
At 22-years-old you have to feel this is going to be his chance at the club, if it doesn’t come now then his career begins to stagnate as he heads into his mid-20s. Loans to either of Real Madrid or Barcelona’s ‘B Teams’ are interesting because they usually are done for the purpose of the staff of the senior team being able to see the player at close-quarters before deciding whether he is of a high enough level for the first-team.
Varela has impressed at such a level with many suggesting he could seamlessly slot into a number of teams in Spain’s top-flight.
One of the attributes Varela has going for him with Van Gaal in charge is his ability on the ball. He is a very technically proficient footballer but also quite robust, it seems an obvious comparison to make but there a lot of similarities in his game to that of former red Gabriel Heinze.
It would be remiss of Van Gaal to not give Varela a chance, particularly on the club’s pre-season tour to the US. Van Gaal has already stated he plans to take a number of younger players on the tour and the circumstances are set for Varela to really make the shirt his own.
