Real Madrid will listen to offers for Raphaël Varane if contract impasse continues — report

One of the more interesting names to pop up on Chelsea’s rumor radar has been Real Madrid’s Raphaël Varane. Earlier reports hinted that the 27-year-old was exploring his options including possibly leaving after a trophy-laden decade with the team.

His current contract expires in 2022, but extension talks have stalled. Should that situation drag on into the summer, Real would be willing to listen to offers for their center back stalwart, which, according to Diario AS, could fetch them upwards of €70m for a player in his absolute prime.

Even at that price, there should be plenty of interest in the France international, though it’s still unlikely that we will ever get that far in this case. Real see Varane as a key member of their team, and their next big leader after Sergio Ramos. This is just the game that gets played before a new contract extension is signed. (Ed.note: Ramos himself went through this cycle, with Chelsea specifically used as the big bad wealthy option, repeatedly throughout his career.)

That said, should Varane come on the market, he just might be the ideal signing to take Chelsea’s defense to the next level.