Manchester United paid £112m for Casemiro and Raphael Varane, putting them on £350k-a-week salaries… Now the struggling stars could BOTH be facing the Old Trafford exit door as Sir Jim Ratcliffe shakes things up

Imagine suggesting back in the summer that within six months Casemiro and Raphael Varane would be sold by Manchester United.

You’d have been on the receiving end of some funny looks. Both players were instrumental in Erik ten Hag‘s successful first season at Old Trafford, embodying the professionalism and winning mentality so desperately required in the United dressing room.

Having paid Real Madrid £112million for the pair in consecutive summers and handed them enormous multi-year salaries around the £350,000-per-week mark, they were regarded as two pillars Ten Hag could build around.

Yet football waits for no man and both Casemiro and Varane could be heading for the Old Trafford exit as soon as January.

As Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes charge of United’s football operations following his £1.3billion investment, both could be moved on as the strategy shifts.

The Brazil midfielder has struggled for form this season having been excellent last term

French defender Varane has slumped down the defensive pecking order under Erik ten Hag

With the Ineos billionaire and his sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford expected to sit on a new football committee once their 25 per cent stake is rubber-stamped, big changes could be afoot.

In so far as French club Nice, also owned by Ineos, can offer us some clues as to what to expect from them at Old Trafford, there could well be a driving down of the average squad age.

That currently stands at 24.2 years, making it one of the youngest in Ligue 1, and it’s skewed somewhat by the present of captain Dante, 40, and goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, 36.

Incidentally, Nice’s Italian coach Francesco Farioli is only 34 and youth isn’t serving them too badly as they sit second in the table, unbeaten in 12 games and just a point behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

It may hint at United pivoting back to what they have done well in the past – producing or signing talented young footballers and developing them to their full potential.

That could well signal the end of spending extortionate sums on older, established names such as Casemiro and Varane, who may boast impressive CVs but were 30 and 28 respectively when signed.

Brazil midfielder Casemiro, now 31, cost United £60m plus £10m in add-ons and is their highest earner on around £350,000-a-week over four years.

He was consistently excellent last season, forging an effective midfield partnership with Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes, scoring seven goals and assisting a further six.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover of football operations at Old Trafford will mean a change in strategy

It could spell the end for Varane and Casemiro, two outstanding performers just last season

But his form dropped off a cliff this season before he suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined until Christmas.

It has meant United have struggled to take a firm grip on midfield in a number of their games and it helps explain their wholly unconvincing form.

In short, Casemiro has started to show his age and the wisdom of United’s huge outlay – £70m in transfer fee and £72.8m in salary over his four-year contract – is starting to be questioned.

He has been linked with a January move to Saudi Arabia, which could allow United to recoup some money, but even if he stays his future is likely to be up for discussion in the summer.

Varane, 30, was signed for £42m in the summer of 2021, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was still in charge at Old Trafford.

On wages of £340,000-per-week, the French centre-back would earn £70.72m over the duration of his four-year contract.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was coach when United signed Varane for £42m on a four-year contract 

Casemiro cost United £70m and was unveiled on the pitch ahead of their Premier League game with Liverpool, having signed a £350,000-a-week contract 

But having fallen out of favour with Ten Hag and down United’s defensive pecking order, Varane may not get that far.

Bayern Munich have expressed an interest in signing him for £25m in January but Varane would need to take a pay cut.

As Mail Sport has reported, the relationship between Varane and Ten Hag has practically broken down with a frank exchange taking place when he was dropped for last month’s Manchester derby.

Varane started 22 of 30 Premier League fixtures he was fit and available for last season and began this campaign as first-choice.

But United’s last four league outings have seen Varane play six minutes against Sheffield United, be an unused sub against City, come on for one minute at Fulham and play just 11 against Luton.

Varane might be able to tolerate Harry Maguire starting ahead of him but it’s harder to take when Victor Lindelof and 35-year-old Jonny Evans are more in favour.

When Lisandro Martinez returns from his foot injury, Varane could find himself even further from Ten Hag’s plans.

Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans (right) have been preferred to Varane in certain games

Varane scored the winning goal against Wolves on the opening weekend but then lost his spot

For both players, it represents a dramatic decline in their stock from only a few months ago.

For United, the fact they’d even countenance selling two such influential figures potentially indicates a clean break from past transfer strategy under Ratcliffe.

Instead of paying astronomical sums for established players who might prosper for a year or two before fading, maybe United will pay less for younger players who will only gain in value.

Time will tell whether Ratcliffe’s recruitment strategy brings back the glory days as  United crave.