Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand clearly thinks incredibly highly of Red Devils centre-back Raphael Varane - though it's unclear whether manager Erik ten Hag feels the same.
The former Real Madrid stalwart made the move to Old Trafford last summer but endured an underwhelming debut campaign as he struggled to fully adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. Despite this, ex-England international Ferdinand has made quite the claim when it comes to Varane's ability.
Pondering over which - if any current United stars would be able to force their way into the respective starting line-ups of rivals Manchester City and Liverpool - Ferdinand highlighted Varane as the man who would start for both.
Appearing on former teammate Ben Foster's 'Fozcast' podcast, the pair discussed United's recent demise and the decline in standards of their squad. The ex-goalkeeper started the debate by claiming: "I don't think there is one current Man United player that would get into a Liverpool or Man City team.
"I love United, I played for United. All the teams I played for, I will get behind and support. But they are so far behind those other two teams at the minute."
Ferdinand was quick to interject, as he replied: "I think both those teams - if we're talking about a one-off game - they would take Raphael Varane. A fit Varane.
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"Cristiano Ronaldo is an argument you could maybe put forward, based on the number of goals he scored last season, but his age goes against him."
Ferdinand's assessment is one Ten Hag may not agree with, considering he dropped both Varane and Ronaldo to the bench for the opening day defeat by Brighton at Old Trafford.
While the reasons for Ronaldo's omission are well-documented, Varane appears to have simply fallen out of favour.
The 29-year-old was replaced by a new summer signing as £56million-man Lisandro Martinez lined up alongside skipper Harry Maguire at the heart of the United defence instead.
Ferdinand is seemingly in the minority with his thoughts on Varane, with ex-Spurs boss Tim Sherwood issuing a brutal review of the defender's time in England so far at the tail-end of last season.
"If we talk about Raphael Varane, he's got off the hook because he's been terrible. He's been terrible since coming to the club," he told Sky Sports. "You've got Maguire who wants to defend the halfway line and Varane who wants to defend up there, so they're not level with each other.
"It's about finding the best partnership but then the manager has to be strong and leave out a player who's won the Champions League and the World Cup."
