Manchester United 's Raphael Varane has been accused of failing to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League by Danny Mills.
The French defender made the eagerly-anticipated £34million move to Manchester from Real Madrid last summer, signing a four-year deal with the Red Devils.
The World Cup winner enjoyed a glittering 10-year stay in the Spanish capital having joined them from his native Lens as an 18-yea-old back in 2011.
Varane successes with Los Blancos include three La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns, however, former Leeds and Manchester City defender Mills believes the centre-back has struggled to adapt to the English game.
"I questioned Varane’s signing when he first came in and whether he could deal with the intensity of our league," Mills told Genting Casino. "He had quite a few injury problems.
"In La Liga, you’re probably playing seven or eight tough games a season; in the Premier League, every week is a tough game.
"It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Manchester City or Burnley, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be physical and you need to be robust.
"I always had doubts about whether he was going to be robust enough, and I got criticised when he first came in for saying that.
"Subsequently, he’s been injured and in and out of the team, maybe I got lucky with that comment, but that’s the way that I saw it."
Varane has made a mere 16 Premier League outings for the Red Devils so far this season, with a further four appearances coming in the Champions League and two in the FA Cup.
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The 28-year-old has endured a stop-start beginning to life at Old Trafford, with numerous injuries sidelining him throughout his debut season.
A groin injury picked up on international duty back in October saw the Frenchman missed United's two Premier League defeats to Leicester and Liverpool as well as their dramatic Champions League comeback win over Atalanta.
Varane then picked up a hamstring injury against the Italian side in the return group stage fixture and subsequently missed another six weeks of the campaign.
Since then, the centre-back has been able to string together a more consistent run of games, but was forced to pull out of United's recent Premier League clash with Brighton late on due to reported stomach complaints.
Despite Mills' concerns over Varane's suitability with the English game, United boss Ralf Rangnick recently declared he believes the summer signing can become one of the best defenders in the Premier League if he can put his injury woes behind him.
"I am happy that he has been continuously training, having had no injuries," the German revealed.
"This was probably his biggest issue in the first weeks and months that he has always had to deal with some injuries. After having trained or played two or three games he was out for another six weeks.
"For me, it is most important that he stays in good health and that he doesn't get any further, most of all, muscle injuries.
"If that happens, he can obviously develop into one of the best centre-backs in the league."
