Erik ten Hag ready to hijack Prem rivals as he lines up TWO transfer targets to replace Raphael Varane

Erik ten Hag ready to hijack Prem rivals as he lines up TWO transfer targets to replace Raphael Varane

MANCHESTER UNITED are hunting two major Premier League targets as they prepare to cash in on Raphael Varane.

Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo and Sporting Lisbon hero Goncalo Inacio are tipped to top Erik ten Hag’s shopping list for centre-backs next summer.

But Arsenal and Chelsea rate Todibo highly, while Liverpool scouts have watched Inacio.

United have stepped up their interest in the duo after Varane slipped way down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans are ahead of the frustrated Frenchman, with Lisandro Martinez due back from injury later this month.

United’s incoming investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe is understood to have cleared the sale of 30-year-old Varane as part of a wider squad shake-up.

And already Bayern Munich are said to be following his situation carefully.

But Varane’s wages of £340,000 a week are a big stumbling block to the ex-Real Madrid star joining Harry Kane at the German champions.

Ratcliffe is ready to allow, or even encourage, a mini-clear-out once he completes his 25 per cent buy-in of United.

The INEOS owner hopes to take over the club completely in a few years.

Todibo, 23, who joined Nice from Barcelona after a loan spell, has long been linked with the Red Devils.

Inacio is a risng star, having won all his five Portugal caps this year.

But Liverpool might force United’s hand over the 22-year-old – as Anfield chief Jurgen Klopp is reportedly weighing up a January offer for him.