Raphael Varane Chelsea Transfer Still On, Latest Deadline Day Blues Rumours

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly eager to sign one of his former Real Madrid charges, Raphael Varane, to bolster his defensive line at Stamford Bridge.

According to Neil Ashton of the Mail Online, the Portuguese manager is set to "reconfigure his defence at the end of the season" after poor performances, specifically from Gary Cahill.

Indeed, 20-year-old Kurt Zouma started ahead of the English international as the Blues drew with Manchester City on Saturday. Football writer Miguel Delaney suggested there is room for a manoeuvre among the Chelsea centre-backs:

With Cahill having fallen down the pecking order and the 34-year-old John Terry surely heading towards retirement, Mourinho could well do with bolstering his defence.

Varane has been a rumoured target of Chelsea's for some time, per David Wright of the Daily Express, and the 21-year-old may well be open to the move having failed to nail down a starting spot at the Bernabeu; he has made only eight La Liga starts this season, per WhoScored.com.

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Ashton's piece indicates that the Blues will move for Varane in the summer, but Metro's Simon Osborn suggests a late £19 million bid could be tabled in the current transfer window.

While that seems unlikely, a summer move would certainly be advisable given the young Frenchman's talent and the current long-term questions about Chelsea's defensive line.

As B/R UK's Garry Hayes suggests below, the French duo of Zouma and Varane could potentially be a fantastic central defensive partnership at Stamford Bridge for years to come:

Elsewhere, while Andre Schurrle's January departure to Wolfsburg looks set to go through, it is likely to come right down to the wire on deadline day.

As German outlet Bild (via The Independent's Jack De Menezes) report, the Bundesliga appear to have confirmed the potential £24.2 million switch, while BBC Sport indicates that Schurrle has agreed to personal terms with the club.

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However, an official announcement has yet to be made despite all of the necessary components seeming to be in place.

The 24-year-old winger starred at the World Cup but has failed to shine under Mourinho this season, largely being limited to appearing off of the bench.

Schurrle should flourish with greater playing time at Wolfsburg—currently second in the Bundesliga, eight points behind Bayern Munich—and it looks set to be a transfer that should satisfy all parties involved.