Manchester United desperately need two things Raphael Varane can provide

In the eight games since Raphael Varane last started for Manchester United, four different players have been used at centre-back by Erik ten Hag, a list that doesn't include injured first-choice Lisandro Martinez.

For all that Ten Hag has tried to claim Varane's absence is for tactical reasons, that is unlikely to wash with the 30-year-old when he has seen Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw play ahead of him.

That means a £42million signing, who has won the Champions League four times and the World Cup once, is now fifth-choice centre-back for a club in as desperate a rut as United are. It's pretty evident he has no future under Ten Hag.

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To be fair to the United manager, the centre-backs have been performing of late. Maguire is having a good season, Lindelof has been solid and Shaw was good on his return to the left-sided central role at Newcastle on Saturday.

But that doesn't change the fact that this is a team that has become a soft touch. They are fun to play against, easy to outmanoeuvre and outrun, and they will give you chances. Lots of chances.

In five Champions League matches United have allowed 82 shots on their goal. In the Premier League, only Sheffield United (266) and Luton Town (241) have faced more shots than United's 214. That is the Reds in the company of two of the most ill-equipped teams to be promoted to the Premier League in recent memory.

While United have conceded 14 goals in five Champions League matches, they have somehow only shipped 17 in 14 Premier League games, although that feels more a result of luck than judgement.