French prodigy coy on Stamford Bridge link…
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Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane has answered a question directed by Marca journalists about the continued links to Chelsea this summer.
The Premier League giants are selling Brazilian central defender David Luiz to PSG for a reported £50m, and will be looking to replace him before the start of the 2014/15 campaign.
As a result, Chelsea have apparently made young French centre-back Varane their no.1 target, but the player himself has distanced himself from the rumours.
“Chelsea’s interest? At the moment I’m not thinking about that at all. We have a World Cup to prepare for, it’s not the time to think about such issues,” he said.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho worked with Varane during his spell with Real Madrid, and Marca claim that the Portuguese maverick has guaranteed him a starting spot should he move to West London this summer.
This seems relatively unlikely, as last term in the Premier League, Gary Cahill and John Terry were superb in central defence.The English duo held the best defensive record in the top flight – and their form is the main reason the Blues are prepared to let David Luiz leave the club in the first place.
Varane though, is undeniably one of the best young central defenders in world football. He recently started and won the Champions League final, and has been selected as part of Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad as a result.
He’s tall, agile and aerially very strong – although his composure with the ball at his feet is his main asset. Varane is comfortable carrying the ball out from defence, and can position himself appropriately to cut out potential threats. In short, he has the potential to the world’s best defender, but for this reason, Real Madrid will no doubt expect a sizeable fee for his services.
If Chelsea can’t secure Varane, they do have another young Frenchman, Kurt Zouma, arriving from Saint Etienne for £10m – who could provide backup to Cahill and Terry.
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