Tony Cascarino has now been debating the merits of a high-profile signing Manchester United made back in 2021.

Whether Erik ten Hag is in charge at Old Trafford next season or not, United will need to undergo a sizable squad rebuild.

An extensive list of players could leave the club, with it now confirmed that both Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane will depart.

Under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s guidance, United now need to implement a change in strategy with a focus on long-term success.

Despite playing a starring role initially, Casemiro’s move to Manchester will be ultimately deemed as an unsuccessful one by many, a player who may not be part of this new era.

With hindsight it’s easy to criticise deals for a lot of the players mentioned above, particularly in the case of Varane and Casemiro.

Two Real Madrid stars at the time of purchase, both seemed as if they would add real quality and experience to United’s squad.

However, when speaking on talkSPORT this morning, Tony Cascarino thinks the warning signs were always there when it came to Varane.

Tony Cascarino thinks signing Raphael Varane was a poor decision by Manchester United

Despite Varane’s success at Real Madrid, Cascarino thought his appearance record should have been a worry even before coming to Old Trafford.

Varane has missed a lot of football owing to injury in recent campaigns, and the pundit attempted to quantify the cost of the deal for the club.

He initially said: “I can pick a few things that no one seems to talk about within the club. Some of the players you have signed and some of the players you have spent. 

“I will give you Raphael Varane, okay, who is leaving this summer. He has had three years at the club.

“I think they paid €50m for him, you know, at the age of 28. He is now 31. For nothing, he is walking out of the club. 

“He will probably have been on £15m + a year, which is £45m, then the €50m you add on, you are talking about an £80 million odd deal. 

“I knew because I looked at his numbers and watched a lot of him since he left Lens for Real Madrid. He basically played at most 60% of the games.

“So when he came to Old Trafford, he played 67 games for Man United in the league out of 114.

“So, you are getting a player you have paid £80m for in wages and signing-on fee and adding all that together that’s being given a free, he has played 60% of the game time.

“He did the same at Madrid. He missed a lot of football at Madrid. Even though he was very successful and was a great player for them, can you afford to give a player so much money that doesn’t play more than, let’s go a conservative 70% of the games?”

A move for Jarrad Branthwaite would signal a clear change at Old Trafford

Of course, the antithesis of Raphael Varane’s signing seems to be a deal for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.

The young defender has an excellent availability record and could be a much more consistent presence at the club.

United are said to be very interested in the 21-year-old this summer, who has even been on Real Madrid’s radar.

The Spanish giants watched Branthwaite in the recent derby win over Liverpool, a game in which the defender scored.

Fans will hope that Manchester United’s hierarchy have learned a lot from their deals in the last few years, particularly with Varane.

And an attempt to sign Branthwaite as his replacement this summer would be a real signal of progress.