Raphael Varane has backed Erik ten Hag as the right manager for Manchester United, having had first-hand experience of the Dutchman's thrilling Ajax teams.
Ten Hag will take over at United next month having recently been confirmed as the club's next permanent manager, but he is looking to finish his time in Holland with a third league title with Ajax.
The 52-year-old has built a reputation for creating two stylish Ajax teams and his desire to play an entertaining and progressive style has made him the choice of supporters to take over at Old Trafford.
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Varane is better placed than most of his United teammates to discuss the merits of Ten Hag, having had a difficult experience against his Ajax side that reached the semi-finals of the 2018/19 Champions League.
The centre-back started the second leg of Real Madrid's last-16 clash with Ajax in the Bernabeu that season, in what turned out to be one of Ten Hag's greatest nights.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Ajax won 4-1 in the Spanish capital and having seen the quality of that performance Varane can't wait to work with Ten Hag at his new club.
"I played against them in the Champions League and they played very well. I'm very excited to work with him," said Varane.
"I'm looking forward to work with him. I think he has good experience and he's a good person to work in this club."
Varane has had fitness issues this season, missing 17 games with five different setbacks, but the 29-year-old is confident a full pre-season will get him up to full fitness next term.
United will spend just over two weeks in Thailand and Australia in pre-season, a tour that will give Ten Hag the perfect opportunity to assess the squad and drill his methods into his players.
Some of the fine-tuning might focus on a defence that has kept just 10 clean sheets in 47 games this season, a situation not helped by Varane's absences and Harry Maguire's loss of form.
"I think we can improve. I think we have good players and we have to defend together closer," said Varane. "I think this season we were a little bit irregular and I think we can improve and to do better next season.
"I think it's not just about the defence but the whole team. I think we can improve, we can defend better.
"We can be more in control during games. Sometimes we're able to play very well 20-30 minutes and then play bad 10 or 15 minutes. We lost a lot of points like this.
"I think if we are consistent, we can improve a lot, so I think it's a collective work we have to do."
Varane's first season as a United player since swapping Madrid for Manchester hasn't gone as planned, with the club set to fall short of Champions League qualification and endure a fifth successive year without a trophy, but the World Cup winner has still enjoyed his first taste of life at Old Trafford.
"The experience it's amazing. The feeling to be a United player is something special," he said. I am very happy to play in the Premier League and it's a great experience.
"I'm always positive and I think with a good pre-season, with good work, we can prepare well the next season and be ready to fight for every trophy. That's the ambition of this club."
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