According to The Daily Express, Chelsea want Raphael Varane as a replacement for John Terry when his time comes to leave the club. Varane currently plays at Real Madrid and is finding it difficult to get consistent playing time, behind Sergio Ramos and Pepe.
Reports in Spain are suggesting that Jose Mourinho wants to be reunited with Varane after working with him at his time at Real Madrid. Varane is young and talented but has not been able to get in the starting eleven as much as he would have hoped for.
Varane did have knee surgery and there are doubts about how he has recovered from it, and Mourinho is hoping he can negotiate a discount for him. Varane, according to The Daily Express, has a 165 million pound buyout clause.
Pepe is being watched by other clubs as well, and it may be difficult for Chelsea to get Varane if Real sell Pepe. If Chelsea want Varane, they need to go quickly and try to get a deal done before other transfers occur.
I have seen Varane play quite a lot in the last couple of years and I think he would be a good addition to this Chelsea side. Chelsea do need to strengthen their attack but with John Terry nearing the end of his career, this would be a good replacement.
Chelsea will have Kurt Zouma coming after being signed in January but sent back on loan as well. Varane has looked like he has the making to be a fantastic center back and is still quite young. If Chelsea are able to sign Varane for a reasonable price, I think it would be great business.
I give this potential move an 8 out of 10 as far as strengthening Chelsea because it is more of a move for the future. Varane can come in and play right away but I expect Terry to play one more year to try and go for the EPL title and Varane can be a guy who plays sporadically.
As of right now, Varane has been more of a sub for Real Madrid and it is looking like it is hard for him to come into the side when they have Ramos and Pepe playing like they are at the moment. Varane looks like he has all the makings of being a great defender but does he want to sit on the bench at The Bernabeu or go to Stamford Bridge?
I do not know if Varane would play as much as he would like at Chelsea right away but with Terry nearing retirement, he could come right in and be a starter. Right now, I think Chelsea needs to go for attacking players and not defensive cover, thus I give this move only a 20 percent chance of happening.
