Real Madrid Boss Rafa Benitez Must Put His Faith in Raphael Varane in 2015-16

Trophy-rich but peripheral. Insanely talented but under-used. Capable of anything but stuck on a leash. At Real Madrid, Raphael Varane is all of those things. 

The Frenchman is a unique case at the Bernabeu. Since arriving from Lens in the summer of 2011, Varane has collected everything he can in white, his honours list suggesting that, at just 22, he already has it all. 

La Liga. Check. Champions League. Check. Copa del Rey. Check. UEFA Super Cup. Check. Spanish Super Cup. Check. Club World Cup. Check. In just four seasons in Chamartin, Varane has collected a career sextuple and has stood as an ever-present figure in Real Madrid's recent success. 

In that time, an array of stars have passed through the Spanish capital collecting some of those honours but not others. Among them, Mesut Ozil, Gonzalo Higuain and Kaka share one league title and a Spanish Super Cup with Varane. Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria share five of the six. But Varane has the complete set, just like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Marcelo and Pepe.

And yet, in that time, he's remained peripheral, his hunger grossly unsatisfied. 

In Real Madrid's record-breaking Primera Division triumph in 2011-12, Varane made just seven starts. In both legs of the 2012 Spanish Super Cup victory, he sat on the sidelines—just as he did for the UEFA Super Cup win. In the dramatic capture of the 2014 Copa del Rey, he was a 90th-minute substitute. Ditto for the Club World Cup final in Morocco. And though he started Madrid's successful Champions League final 13 months ago, it was only his fourth start in the 13 games of that campaign. 

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In 2014-15, the precocious Frenchman finally saw more playing time, making 35 starts in all competitions. But much of that was due to injury layoffs for Ramos and Pepe, Marca noting that Varane "still always had the sneaking suspicion that he was behind the two in the pecking order" and "has been unsettled over his status at the club for some time now."

So Varane has it all but at the same time doesn't. Few of his titles at Real Madrid will have been satisfying on a personal level. But this summer and the approaching season are bringing change to the Bernabeu. For Varane, it's time. 

The early indications suggest the France international will finally be given the primary status he craves. "Varane prepped for step up," ran Marca's headline in mid-June, as the Madrid-based daily declared that the defender had completed his "apprenticeship" and was set to be rewarded with a "promotion" from the Bernabeu brass and new manager Rafa Benitez.

For Real Madrid, it's a decision that needs to be followed through; the club can't allow the development of such an outrageous talent to stagnate. This time last year, and in each of the two prior summers, Varane stood as unquestionably the most promising young defensive talent in Europe.

But a backup role has taken a little steam out of his progression, and in 2015 Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez is now an equal after once being a distant challenger. Athletic Bilbao's 21-year-old Aymeric Laporte, though still behind, has also made ground, having made 66 league starts in two years. 

Thus, it's time to let Varane push ahead again, time to allow him an extended period to showcase his incredible athletic gifts and for Real Madrid to harness them. And what gifts they are, as we explained here at Bleacher Report when noting a brief but seminal moment of Varane's season—one that saw Marca dub him the "Rocket Man"—that came in the Champions League quarter-final clash with Atletico at the Vicente Calderon:

"

Sticking a boot out, Cristiano Ronaldo got a toe on it, pushing it toward Raphael Varane. Skipping the tackle of Mario Suarez, Varane broke free of the congestion. Then he exploded, like this. It wasn't just a sprint; his transonic speed almost created a vapor cone. "Was that Varane?" everyone watching asked of the person beside them, needing immediate clarification. "Centre-backs can't run like that, can they?"

It was one of those moments that was quickly followed by thoughts of the possibilities—what the presence of such an athlete could do for a defence, how such pace could embolden a defensive line, the liberties such speed at the back could give a midfield and how many options such a player could give to a style, a system.

"

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That's the player Real Madrid are dealing with, an emerging star with limitless potential who's had vocal admirers in Jose Mourinho, Didier Deschamps, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane—men who've labelled him as someone who "has everything" and the "future of Real Madrid."

Though he's waited patiently behind Pepe and Ramos, Varane has the capacity to be better than both. He possesses the former's stature and the latter's athleticism. More dynamic than the Portuguese, owning a cooler temperament than the Spaniard, Varane is something of a developing super smoothie of the two, combining many of their traits and having the tools to build on them. You could consider him a prototype for the modern centre-back.

Naturally, the Lille-born star does own some weaknesses—his pace and recovery abilities allow him to gamble, at times making his positioning overly audacious or even cavalier; at the hands of physical centre-forwards, he can be pushed around—but they're also issues maturity will fix.

What makes Varane's talent so exciting is that he's the owner of physical attributes that can't be taught or developed. That's what makes him stand out. And when it all comes together, the results are profound, evident when he became a soaring, lunging, tackling, ball-clearing and unbeatable defensive monster while his team-mates had an off day against a surging Villarreal outfit last September. 

Already, 98 percent of the ingredients are there; the other two will come from playing time, experience. The 2015-16 season is the time to give that to him.

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