Well to be fair we're talking about the club that sold Claude Makalele when he was the best in the world in his position, so never say never when it come to Real Madrid. 

Well to be fair we're talking about the club that sold Claude Makalele when he was the best in the world in his position, so never say never when it come to Real Madrid. 

 

and Ozil, although to be fair he hasn't set the world alight since.

and Ozil, although to be fair he hasn't set the world alight since.

 

He looked amazing in the first few months of the season, I'm not passing full judgement on him until next season because a lot of players need a year to adapt to a new country and league.

 

If Wenger brings in another good striker and Ramsay, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlaine stay fit then I think they'll bring out the best in Ozil because he seems to need the players around him to be moving intelligently to bring out his passing game. 

Real Madrid have sold many good players who have went on to be good elsewhere as well - Makalele, Robben, Van der Vaart, Ozil, to name but a few, players who didn't necessarily want to leave but Madrid sold them anyway.

Sniejder too, who like Makalele and Robben went on to accomplish great things such as dominating the BPL and shattering records or being key men in Champions League runs.   Real Madrid is one club where perception is more important than reality.  If you have world class talent but are not perceived as a world class player/name, Madrid will send ya packing.

I don't think Real will let him go, nor do I think that he would choose to leave them for us, but I'd be delighted to see him at Chelsea. 

 

Terry is defying his age and continuing to play well, but this can't go on forever. I think it's realistic (or at least sensible contingency planning) to expect that the last full season we get out of him will be next season, and even then we can't bank on it. Despite having had a great season and proving himself to be still up there as one of the best defenders in the league, the man is held together with bits of string and painkillers. While his fighting spirit and will to compete makes him one of the finest players ever to pull on the shirt, he can't keep going forever. With this in mind, we need a replacement lining up. With Luiz gone, we at least need cover at CB. So what of the existing options?

 

Kalas -  yes Mourinho is said to be an admirer. But we've heard that before about other players. The reality will only emerge with game time. We therefore have to assume he's in the shop window as much as anything else this season, and it's a lot to expect him to deputise effectively for JT. Sounds like he's spent his Chelsea career deputising for cones (https://twitter.com/KHaring75/status/460396999670779904), so we'll see how that turns out for him..  

 

Zouma - could be a good prospect, but the boy is RAW. Like leg shattering, 10 game ban raw. He has to go on loan somewhere before he's ready - I actually think that the planned year back at St Etienne could be improved upon by a further spell at a premier league club the following year. Given how cautious our club is with giving young talent game time, it's almost a certainty that it'll be a year or two before he's an option. That said, if his potential is realised, he could be awesome.

 

Another option could be bringing one of our loanee lefties back, allowing us to bring Ivan in to the middle if JT or Gaz get injured, switching Dave back to his favoured RB berth, and relying on the unspectacular but capable Bertrand, or PVA on the left. We all know the potential problems with the latter - performing well in Eredivisie is not a guarantee of success in the Prem (handful of games at the Magpies notwithstanding). Either way, I don't see this as a title-winning solution.

 

The more radical, expensive option is getting another CB in. You can whinge about how tedious it is for us to be linked to a succession of centre backs simply because we sold one, but it's actually a sensible course of action to get one in. Although this would bump Kalas down the pecking order, which I know would dishearten the many people on this forum who have particularly high hopes for our youngsters, we could get a ready-made top defender in*. In my opinion, Varane is just about the best possible bet. He's very young, but proven at the very highest level. He's quick and has the physical attributes required to be successful in the Prem. He's worked with Jose before, and presumably thrives under him. He'd cost an arm and a leg, but PSG are giving us a thigh and two forearms for Luiz, and he'd be an investment. Imagine him after a year or two under JT's tutelage. Mouthwatering.

If Zouma lives up to his potential, I can see a fearsome partnership between the two (incidentally they're both French speakers which could perhaps help).  

 

Obviously there are a hundred reasons why this transfer almost definitely will not happen. He's valued at RM, and they're at the top of the pile right now, so why would they sell him? Why would he want to leave? Even with the blue-tinted specs on, I can see that we just don't have the appeal of a team like Real. So I'll keep my fingers crossed as I think it would be a great signing for us, even for a lot of money. Unfortunately I think the only way Real would consider it would be as a makeweight in a Hazard deal, which makes no sense for us.

 

 

 

 

*I realise how contentious this is - the Matic situation illustrates both sides of the argument, i.e. on the one hand why you should nurture and retain talent, and on the other why sometimes you have to pay over the odds for the finished article. IMO, on balance, I think all the hand-wringing about paying for a player we let go in the first place ignores the fact that we ended up paying an acceptable premium for a proven player. 

My worry is that mourinho plans to use him as a RB

Why do people hear act like Kalas is a world class talent? Jesus, you guys worry too much. Varane is one of the best young players in the world and would be great to have at Chelsea, end of story.

Has he played at RB before?

 

yes, under mourinho. in important matches as well

Spend the Luiz money on Varane. 

 

Do it.

Why do people hear act like Kalas is a world class talent? Jesus, you guys worry too much. Varane is one of the best young players in the world and would be great to have at Chelsea, end of story.

 

You can only beat whats in front of you, he performed fantastically against Liverpool and there's nothing to suggest he's not capable of making it here, same as Bertrand.

Spend the Luiz money on Varane. 

 

Do it.

He is very, very good no doubt about it, but if we spend all the money we have strengthening our already pretty miserly defense and end up with no additions in midfield or attack of note then we will be right back where we left off last season.

Spend the Luiz money on Varane. 

 

Do it.

 

Or we could just give players we've already got like Zouma, Kalas and Omeruo a chance and not spend 40odd million on a position we're already quite stocked in? Just a thought.

Why do people hear act like Kalas is a world class talent? Jesus, you guys worry too much. Varane is one of the best young players in the world and would be great to have at Chelsea, end of story.

 

Varane is only thought as a 'world class talent' because he was given a chance, who's to say Kalas couldn't be the same? He was shoved into one of our biggest games of the season in his league debut and he was superb, I'd really like to see him given a chance as a starter, it's about time we started to give our youngsters a go.

Or we could just give players we've already got like Zouma, Kalas and Omeruo a chance and not spend 40odd million on a position we're already quite stocked in? Just a thought.

That's like saying let's not sign Hazard because we already have Kakuta. Varane is a better quality player right now and has as much, if not more, talent that any one of them.

For a reasonable price I'd much rather sell one of them and go for Varane. Timing is everything in the transfer market.

Edited June 1, 201412 yr by venom2011

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9335206/transfer-news-real-madrids-raphael-varane-dismisses-chelsea-talk-as-he-focuses-on-world-cup

"Asked about the reported interest from Chelsea, Varane told French TV show Telefoot: "Will I remain a Real player next term? I am absolutely not focused on that.

"There is a World Cup to prepare for and it is not the right moment to have such questions.""

 

 

Not a resounding "I'm staying." I'd love to give Real Madrid a taste of what they do to English clubs every summer and poach one of their big players.

Do we really need to spend a fortune on another center back? Rather give Kalas and Zouma a go.

I seem to be spending more and more of my time thinking about Varane. If we pulled off some sort of swap deal with Cech in the summer (or even the summer after that) it would be ridiculous, and I am not one to take Cech's departure lightly.

I haven't watched enough of Varane to really have an opinion but if Jose thinks he's the best CB in Europe then that's good enough for me. What kind of a Centre Half is he? Is he of the Gary Cahill mould, ie. likes to hold back and make last ditch tackles, or is he more of the Vincent Kompany/David Luiz type, normally looking to press quickly and intercept the ball?

I haven't watched enough of Varane to really have an opinion but if Jose thinks he's the best CB in Europe then that's good enough for me. What kind of a Centre Half is he? Is he of the Gary Cahill mould, ie. likes to hold back and make last ditch tackles, or is he more of the Vincent Kompany/David Luiz type, normally looking to press quickly and intercept the ball?

I know you can't completely judge him by a video, but this video will give you an indication of his qualities. 

He is a pacey centre-back with good passing and tackling.

Real look stronger with him in their defence. Would be a top, top signing.

Varane 2020.

Yep, looks like Jose's interest never went any further than that

He is playing really well for Real Madrid tonight! I hope we can sign him next summer, but that will be hard and very expensive.

Real wouldn't sell him.