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Raphaël Varane joined Real Madrid as a teenager. He was only 18 years old when he joined Los Blancos. Zinedine Zidane is also credited for securing his signing for Real Madrid.
Manchester United were said to be interested in signing him in 2011 when he was at Lens. However, Zidane stepped in and swiftly signed him for the Spanish giants.
For players of any age, the Santiago Bernabeu could be an intimidating stadium. However, Varane managed to put in great performances for his age. Despite Pepe's presence at the club, he was able to make a case for himself.
Even Jose Mourinho, who is usually hesitant to give the youngster chances, gave him ample opportunities.
Varane went on to form a solid partnership at the back with Sergio Ramos. The rest, as they say, is history and Varane won a lot of trophies at Real Madrid. However, Manchester United kept on trying to sign him. Now it's official and the Red Devils have managed to bring the Frenchman to Old Trafford.
However, for Real Madrid they will now have the task of replacing him. They have already lost their legendary captain Sergio Ramos this summer. Varane was expected to partner David Alaba as the new center back pairing.
But the situation is far from ideal for Los Blancos. Also finding a player with the exact skill set of Varane's will be extremely difficult. Real Madrid will have to find a player who can provide similar efficiency as the Frenchman.
Three players who can replace Raphaël Varane at Real Madrid
Jérôme Boateng
Like Varane, the German defender has won it all in world football. He is currently a free agent and Bayern Munich have decided against renewing Boateng's contract. So far he is yet to join a new club as well. According to Fabrizio Romano he is yet to decide upon his future and in a few days he will do so, depending on offers.
Considering Boateng's age, he is clearly not the long-term solution for Real Madrid. However, he can offer a short term fix. This could give them time to sign a big player to replace Varane. Also, David Alaba played with him for a long time. Both of them have a good understanding of each other as well.
The German has plenty of experience and may not be at his best but he can get the job done. Last season he had made 5.64 progressive passes per 90 minutes while Varane made 2.51 progressive passes per 90 minutes. Boateng made 1.72 interceptions per 90 minutes and Varane made 1.10 interceptions per 90 minutes.
These stats indicate that despite his age the German is capable of replacing Varane at Real Madrid for at least one season.
It will also be easy for Real Madrid to sign him. Romano also revealed that Manchester United are not considering signing him. Rumored moves to PSV and Hertha Berlin are also not on the cards. So Real Madrid have a good shot at signing him as a free agent.
Marquinhos
Despite his brilliance, the Brazilian is not considered one of the best defenders in world football. This could partially be because he plays in Ligue 1 which is not on the same level as the Premier League or La Liga. However, that does imply that he is not capable of performing well for another club.
Marquinhos has often played well for the Brazilian national team and he should be able to do that for Real Madrid as well.
The former Roma defender is only 27 years old. He is yet to reach his peak form and he has gained a lot of experience by playing at the top level since an early age. The Brazilian has a similar profile to Varane and now might be tempted to leave PSG as well.
Ligue 1 is not the same level as La Liga and like the Frenchman, he might also want a new challenge. Also, a move to Real Madrid is always tempting for a South American player.
If he indeed joins Real Madrid he will have big boots to fill. But statistically it looks like he is capable of that. However, it would not be fair to compare the two based upon Marquinhos' Ligue 1 stats.
Thus, the Champions League is a competition in which both of them can be compared. The PSG star has 17 interceptions in the competition while Varane only made 5 interceptions.
Marquinhos applied pressure (pressure indicates the percentage of times the squad gained possession within five seconds of the player applying pressure), through which his team won the ball 36.1% times and the Frenchman did the same 27.1%.
Not only this, the Brazilian also has the experience of playing in the midfield as well.
The bigger hurdle for Real Madrid would be to strike a deal with PSG for the player. Florentino Perez has a good relationship with the club's president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. This could help the club in the negotiations as well. The important thing will be for the player to himself ask PSG to allow him to join Los Blancos.
According to Transfermarkt, he is valued around €75 million. Real Madrid should be able to get the deal done for around €65 million. They already have €34 million from the sale of Varane.
Milan Škriniar
The Slovakian has made a name for himself in Serie A with Inter Milan. He is much like the old school defenders who use their muscle power against strikers. It is also understandable that he uses his muscle power, he is 6'1 and he is well built as well.
Despite his old school style he is a very good passer of the ball. Skriniar's style of play is to play short passes.
With him in the team, Real Madrid will have Alaba who can deal with the quick players. While he can handle strikers who use their physicality. Sergio Ramos would often impose himself on opposition attackers and Skriniar could also do the same.
The former Sampdoria defender is only 26 years old and his best years are yet to come.
The Inter Milan defender made more tackles than Varane. Skriniar made 1.76 tackles per 90 minutes for the Nerrazuri, while the Frenchman made 0.91 tackles per 90 minutes for Real Madrid. The Slovakian made 1.53 blocks per 90 minutes while Varane made 1.29 blocks per 90 minutes.
Although the Real Madrid defender is better than Skriniar in some other aspects, Skriniar has the potential to further improve his game.
Real Madrid have previously been linked with a move to sign him. However, this time Los Blancos have a very good chance. This is because the Italian giants are going through a financial crisis. They have already sold Achraf Hakimi to PSG as well. However they still need to raise more money.
According to FC Inter News via Sempreinter, the Nerrazuri valued him around €50 million. Not only that, Real Madrid are also said to be interested in signing him.
All stats via FBref.co
