At £19 Million, Real Madrid's Raphael Varane Would Be a Steal for Chelsea

On the day that Chelsea announced record profits of £18.4 million, the Blues were being linked with a January move for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

The timing of Chelse's business announcement couldn't have been better, outlining the folly of Real if they're really willing to allow Varane to leave on the cheap, which his £19 million fee reported in the Daily Star would be.

The exact figure of Chelsea's profit isn't what's to be marvelled at, rather the new sense of perspective it shows the club has adopted in running their finances effectively to avoid the days of losing £100 million a season, as they did in the early days of Roman Abramovich's reign.

Chelsea are a different beast these days, buying low and selling high in some cases, as we have seen with the transfers of Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne and David Luiz in 2014.

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In recent years, the club has developed a knack for identifying talent that can not only benefit the playing side but also balance the books.

Real Madrid would do well to take notice.

Varane would be a snip for any club at the figures being discussed.

The 21-year-old is widely regarded as being among the best young talents in Europe and has a fine career ahead of him.

He is a raw talent and, while having fallen out of favour this season under Carlo Ancelotti, still has much to offer.

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The European champions have an ageing rearguard, and when Jose Mourinho gave Varane his Los Blancos debut back in 2011, it was he who was soon being earmarked as the future.

He still should be regardless of his situation this term, so to allow him to leave so cheaply, to a European rival no less, is baffling.

The nature of football is that paths will always cross at some point. Players come and go, and few clubs—if any—are powerless to stop their rivals strengthening in key areas.

The whole point, though, is to make it difficult at least.

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Varane would offer Chelsea plenty of strength in depth. He would probably have to accept a role on the bench in the short term given the continued form of John Terry, but at nearly 34, Chelsea are looking for his replacement.

The likes of Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma are seen as the players with the potential to fill that void when the time comes, but Varane is almost a ready-made replacement in that sense.

Zouma and Christensen still have plenty to learn as they develop their games, but featuring for Real these past couple of seasons, and the experience he has gained as a result, puts Varane ahead of them.

For a relatively low fee by today's standards in the transfer market, Chelsea would be making the future the present right now.

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Talk of David Luiz's summer transfer from Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain has become the barometer almost for what a good post-World Cup deal is.

If the Brazilian was worth £50 million, Chelsea will be laughing all the way to the bank if they can get Varane for the price being quoted.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained first-hand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes