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After a decade of service, Raphael Varane is tipped to leave Real Madrid this summer.
Raphael Varane joined Real Madrid from Lens in 2011 and has enjoyed an extremely successful stint in the Spanish capital. With Sergio Ramos, he struck up one of the finest centre-back partnerships we've seen in modern football and has won numerous trophies and earned several personal accolades as well.
The Frenchman has won four UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, three Supercopa de Espanas and one Copa Del Rey in his time with Real Madrid. As such, replacing him won't be an easy task for Real Madrid.
To make things worse, Sergio Ramos is on course to become a free agent at the end of the season. Real Madrid will need to find replacements in the summer. Without further ado, let's take a look at five defenders who can replace Raphael Varane.
5 players who can replace Raphael Varane at Real Madrid
#5 Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli
Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly was a primary transfer target for several European giants including Real Madrid a couple of summers back. Napoli did not relent and kept asking for a sum in excess of €100 million. However, they are not going to get anything close to that if they try to offload him now.
Koulibaly will turn 30 this summer and he is not a long-term option for Real Madrid. But what he brings is a lot of experience and he is almost guaranteed to hit the ground running in the Spanish capital.
However, Real Madrid making a move for Kalidou Koulibaly will be contingent on a lot of things. They will only go for him if he is available for cheap and if they can't land one of their main targets.
#4 Aymeric Laporte - Manchester City
Just a year back, Aymeric Laporte was viewed as untouchable at Manchester City. The left-footed centre-back was brought in for £57 million in 2018. In fact, Pep Guardiola had been looking at finding a decent partner for Laporte and was able to rope in Ruben Dias last summer.
However, in Laporte's absence due to injury, Ruben Dias was partnered with John Stones and together the duo have done an exceptional job. They're currently the best centre-back partnership in the Premier League. As such, Laporte is now unsettled at Manchester City and is likely to seek a move away from the club.
The Frenchman should be open to a move to Real Madrid. Being a left-footed centre-back, he will be a great addition to Zinedine Zidane's backline.
#3 Jules Kounde - Sevilla
Sevilla centre-back and Real Madrid transfer target Jules Kounde has been a revelation ever since joining the club in 2019. He has formed a good partnership with Diego Carlos at centre-back for Julen Lopetegui's side. The 22-year-old looks very comfortable playing in a four-man defence and has stood out at Sevilla with his excellent performances.
This obviously means that Kounde is a safe option for Real Madrid as he has already shone in La Liga. But he won't come in for cheap as Kounde is tied to Sevilla until 2024.
Premier League sides like Manchester United and Chelsea are also interested in Jules Kounde and Sevilla will be happy to spark a bidding war between all the European giants who are interested in securing his services.
#2 Pau Torres - Villarreal
24-year-old Villarreal defender Pau Torres is one of the defenders who has been heavily linked with Real Madrid. Los Blancos have been closely monitoring Pau Torres but Villarreal will make it as hard as they can for Real Madrid as they won't be happy to part with their main centre-back.
This is highlighted by Villarreal president Fernando Roig's words from last night. After Villarreal's win over Dinamo Zagreb, Roig told Partidazo de Cope:
“I am not afraid of Real Madrid signing Pau Torres. If they want Pau Torres, they will have to pay good money. I hope that we can still keep him for another two or three years.”
Once again, Real Madrid will have to break the bank in order to sign Pau Torres as he has three years remaining on his contract.
#1 David Alaba - Bayern Munich
David Alaba is very closely linked with Real Madrid and Fabrizio Romano has said that a verbal pre-contract agreement is in place but the player is yet to sign it. He recently revealed that the deal is 99% done.
David Alaba will be a great addition to the Real Madrid backline. Bayern Munich could not see eye-to-eye with the Austrian international over the terms of a new contract and thus he will become a free agent in the summer.
David Alaba will cost Real Madrid a lot of money in terms of wages. However, they won't have to shell out any transfer fees in order to sign him and that's something that works out for them as they have other positions to strengthen as well.
