An update has emerged on Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane, regarding Manchester City's interest in his services.

What's the talk?

According to The Athletic, Manchester City have an informal interest in Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane. Chelsea are said to hold a similar position to City, whilst Manchester United are working the hardest to sign the French international at this moment in time.

The report claims that Real Madrid are open to selling Varane this summer as he heads into the final 12 months of his contract at the Spanish club. Real could be willing to do a deal for a fee in the region of £40m to £45m, to avoid losing him for free next summer.

Last year, Varane labelled himself as a “leader” within the Real Madrid squad. He told BeIN Sports, as transcribed by AS: 

“I am a leader in my own way. With my teammates, I talk a lot before matches about tactics and positioning. We each have our own way.”

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville hailed Varane as an “amazing” player and said that he is better than Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk. He told Sky Sports, as transcribed by The Mirror:

"That’s why I put Varane ahead of Van Dijk purely because this moment in time, Varane’s won so many European cups, he’s an amazing player. You can’t separate their talent, but Varane’s a brilliant player."

Imagine him and Dias

Earlier this week, we advised City against going in for a deal to sign Varane's Real Madrid centre-back partner Sergio Ramos due to his age, 35, and his wage demands. Varane, however, is a completely different prospect as he is seven years younger than the Spanish defender. He only recently turned 28 and could still have a number of years left in the tank at the top level, which is why Txiki Begiristain should be actively looking to swoop for the defender.

Varane has proven himself for both Madrid and France over the past decade or so. In the best part of 400 competitive first-team games, Varane has averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.94. This shows that he has been able to maintain a consistently high standard with his performances over the course of 10 years, having joined Madrid in the summer of 2011 from RC Lens. His honours list also stands out, with four Champions League trophies, three La Liga titles and a World Cup under his belt, among others.

The £63m-rated beast could form a formidable partnership with the Premier League Player of the Season Ruben Dias at City. Varane is athletic and quick and could provide cover in behind for the slower Dias, whose positioning is excellent - as shown by his 0.7 blocks per game in the Premier League and Champions League.

Dias' defending in the box could make up for any lapses in concentration Varane may have and the latter's pace could make up for any time Dias is outpaced by a forward making a run off the back of him.

This is why they could form an excellent duo at the heart of City's defence and why Begiristain must get a deal over the line for the Frenchman. Begiristain must pounce on the opportunity to snap Varane up with 12 months left on his Real contract. It could also push Aymeric Laporte and John Stones to improve their own games, to win a place in the XI ahead of Dias or Varane.

AND in other news, Txiki must ruthlessly axe “dropped off” dynamo to land “exceptional” £200k-p/w beast...