5 players who can replace Raphael Varane at Real Madrid
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.