Varane's moment arrives

Raphaël Varane will replace the injured Pepe in Real Madrid's back four after the Portugal defender was ruled out for two to three weeks with bruised ribs after Real's 2-2 draw with Atlético in the Copa del Rey. The France international has been waiting patiently for just such an opportunity.

Varane has placed 1,384 minutes in total this season, splits between nine league matches (five in the starting 11 and four as a substitute), six Champions League encounters, four Copa games, two appearances at the Club World Cup and one in the Spanish Supercup.

The central defender, who is a first-choice starter for Les Bleus, is the third-choice in the position at Real Madrid, behind Sergio Ramos and Pepe. In La Liga this season, of the 1,530 minutes played by the team in 17 games, Varane has only featured for 533, or 35 percent of the total. Pepe has played 1,260 minutes and Ramos 1,188. Overall, Varane is the 13th most-used player by Real manager Carlo Ancelotti, ahead of Álvaro Arbeloa, Asier Illarramendi, Nacho, Keylor Navas, Javier Hernández, Fabio Coentrao, Sami Khedira, Jesé and Álvaro Medrán.

Now, Pepe's injury paves the way for Varane to start against Getafe on Sunday, and Córdoba next weekend. The Portuguese is expected to be fit to face Real Sociedad on January 31.

At just 21 years of age, Varane has been described as a "starting substitute" at Real Madrid. He has the qualities to marshal the back line in years to come but the presence of Ramos and Pepe's second youth have relegated the Frenchman to a supporting role.

During the two seasons he coincided with José Mourinho at the Bernabéu, Varane played 48 matches with a total of 3,850 minutes on the pitch, to the point that he relieved Pepe of his starting place. Under Ancelotti, he has featured in 45 games, totalling 2,988 minutes.

Varane's promise and his performances when he has been called upon have led to consistent rumours of a move to one of Europe's top clubs, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all monitoring his situation at the Bernabéu.

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1IQI7Hm

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