Jose Mourinho comments on Raphael Varane to Chelsea links

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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has commented on Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has commented on the speculation linking the Blues with a move for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

The Portuguese coach is a huge fan of the French international and gave the Madrid star his debut whilst managing the La Liga giants in 2011.

His decision to play the 21-year-old ahead of fellow centre-back Pepe drew criticism from the Spanish capital at the beginning, but his fabulous performances soon proved Mourinho’s decision to be correct.

Since the outspoken boss returned to the Blues in the summer of 2013, Varane has been the one Madrid player most likely to follow him to the Premier League.

In an interview with the French press in Saturday, Mourinho admitted to being a big fan of the youngster but revealed the former Lens starlet will stay at the Santiago Bernabeu instead of moving to West London.

“Everyone says that he will go to Chelsea because they know that I really like him. However, everyone also knows that he will stay at Madrid.” He said, quoted by the Spanish publication AS.

Many observers have compared Varane with Madrid legend Fernando Hierro, though former France and Chelsea defender Frank Lebouef believes his speed and technique will mean he can be much better.

As shown by the statistics provided by Opta Stats, the Real Madrid defender shows his class and proves exactly why Mourinho is such a big fan.

The youngster outscores both of the Blues’ current centre-backs in tackles and interceptions whilst also being more effective at bringing the ball out of defence – demonstrated by his high number of passes and success rate.

Since making his debut for Madrid, Varane has gone on to represent the club 79 times in all competitions and he has all the ingredients needed to become one of the their greatest ever defenders.