Maguire: How we’ll welcome Varane to United

The latter’s move to the Reds from Real Madrid was of course confirmed just before our opening-day 5-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday. 

And while Maguire was sharing some last words of motivation to his team-mates in the moments before kick-off, Varane was taking his first steps on the Old Trafford pitch as a United player, with his arrival celebrated by a raucous 70,000+-strong crowd in M16. 

Now that the Frenchman is officially a United player, Maguire is naturally looking forward to working with, and learning from, his fellow defender who he believes will be a highly beneficial addition to the club. 

But first and foremost, our captain is eager to help integrate the Reds' newest recruit into the group and make his transition from Madrid to Manchester as smooth as possible, just as everyone at the club did when Maguire himself made the Theatre of Dreams his new home in the summer of 2019. 

He believes doing that successfully will help Varane settle in as quickly as possible which will allow the squad to push on further.

“As players, the more the merrier and the bigger the competition the better. We know when you play for Manchester United that you can’t sit still. If you sit still then you’ll get caught out and people will overtake you, so you’ve got to keep improving and push yourself every day,” Maguire told club media.

“So, bringing players in will make you do that and of course making them feel welcome and settled is something we’ll all do. 

“I’ll have a part to play in that and of course there will also be numerous amounts of players and staff who will do that too. I can only speak from my point of view when I joined this club and the way I got welcomed into the team - the players and staff were brilliant.”

That job has already started for the skipper and co who took to social media to welcome the four-time Champions League, and 2018 World Cup, winner following the announcement.

Thank you captain!!

— Raphaël Varane (@raphaelvarane) August 14, 2021

thank you Marcus, see you soon!! 💪🏾

— Raphaël Varane (@raphaelvarane) August 14, 2021

Our no.5 is obviously therefore excited to get to know Varane as a person, and he is just as keen to begin working with him on the field too due to the quality that he can bring. 

“He’s an exceptional player and he’s proven that over numerous years now and with the trophies he’s won,” Maguire explained.

“He’s a real leader, a winner and to bring him into our defensive unit is really important for options and for competition to make everyone around him improve. 

“We have some excellent defenders at this club and he’s coming into that. We have great international players and it’s only going to be a plus for a team. He’s an exceptional player.”

He is an exceptional player according to Harry, but what will our skipper make of our new man's singing? Before he can pull on the United shirt for the first time on a match day, potentially in our next outing at Southampton on Sunday (22 August), Varane will have to go through a certain ritual.

As has become tradition for new additions on their first away trips, they are officially welcomed into the group by singing an initiation song of their choice in front of the group. 

Maguire therefore can't wait to hear Varane, along with fellow summer signings Tom Heaton and Jadon Sancho, on the mic at some point in the near future. 

“That will probably be at the first away game of the season, so that’s something we’re all looking forward to!”