Manchester United are still not sure that Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane is interested in moving to Old Trafford, according to Eurosport‘s Dean Jones

Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with the 28-year-old, who has one year remaining on his contract, but reports in Spain claim that the Red Devils remain favourites for the Frenchman.

However, speaking on The Football Terrace Youtube channel, Jones says United are pursuing other targets, such as Villarreal’s Pau Torres and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, as they anticipate missing out on Varane:

“There’s Raphael Varane but United, while they are continuing discussions, are still not convinced that Varane is up for joining United. They’re not convinced that it’ll actually come through so that’s why they’ll continue to work on deals in the background.”

“Jules Kounde came into the discussion again last week, as far as I know, he’s still behind Pau Torres in terms of where they are prioritising so I would still expect Pau Torres to be ahead of him when it comes to a bid.”

Varane’s future remains up in the air. Some believe he is simply holding out for a more lucrative contract at Real, and he is using United to get himself a wage rise. Other reports have suggested he may favour a switch to PSG instead.

Whatever the outcome, it does seem as though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side do have backup options in place if the France international opts to turn them down.