Though it’s unlikely to be in January that Raphael Varane leaves Manchester United, there appears to be a sense of inevitability that the French World Cup winner will move on at the end of the current campaign.
To that end, the Red Devils already need to be planning ahead and looking at what centre-back talent there is available in the market place and who can be parachuted in to the United back line without any drop off in quality.
Of course, players with the requisite experience cost big money, and with the likes of Lisandro Martinez to come back and Harry Maguire playing well again, Erik ten Hag and his paymasters may not feel the need to shell out silly money for defensive cover.
A sign of just how quickly transfer fees have spiralled is Atalanta’s £51.7m demand for their 20-year-old centre-back, Giorgio Scalvini, per Metro.
Though their appears to be little doubt that Scalvini has what it takes at the highest level, paying over £50m for a player with just 73 club appearances to his name is a tough pill to swallow.
United are almost at a disadvantage in negotiations before they’ve even taken place too, given that any selling club will understand the lengths that the Red Devils will have to go to in order to ensure that they acquire the right players.