The Blues still see Varane as the ideal defensive recruit.
Chelsea have not given up their hope of signing Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane this summer as the club looks for defensive support, reports the Independent.
Currently Gary Cahill and captain John Terry are the preferred central defensive partnership for manager Jose Mourinho, with the duo keeping the best record at the back in the Premier League last season.
Beyond that is youngster Kurt Zouma, with the 19-year-old having signed for the Blues in a £12.5m deal from Saint-Etienne in January, before spending the rest of the 2013/14 campaign back in Ligue 1 on-loan.
Branislav Ivanovic can also play in the centre, but Mourinho prefers the Serbian as a right-back and that is why the boss has turned to one of his former players in the shape of Varane.
It was the 51-year-old who bought the Frenchman to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu from Lens in 2011 when he was in charge of Los Blancos.
Varane then spent two years under the guidance of Mourinho before the Portuguese coach made his return to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2013.
Yet over the past 12 months the 21-year-old has improved even further and is now a regular in the starting XI for both Madrid and the France national team.
That is what makes the West Londoners’ bid for Varane so audacious, although with Terry approaching the end of his career Mourinho probably sees the French international as a long-term replacement for the skipper.
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