First Manchester United, now Chelsea… Just who is leading the race for Raphael Varane?

Raphael Varane is hot property in football at the minute.

The Real Madrid defender reportedly tops the wish list for both Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho ahead of the summer transfer window and was linked with both clubs on deadline day.

Now the price for the Frenchman is thought to be £35 million -and rising.

In fact, the only place Varane does not seem to be rated as highly as he should be is in the eyes of Carlo Ancelotti, who will always opt for the combination of Pepe and Sergio Ramos at the heart of his defence should the duo be fit and more aptly, not suspended.

That baffles the majority of Varane admirers, with the young centre back one of the finest players of his age and given how well he reads the game now, you can only imagine how good he will be in a few years time when he really develops.

Chelsea boss Mourinho knows Varane well, having given him a chance to break into the Real Madrid first team during his time at the club and dropped Pepe to much dressing room chagrin in order to accommodate Varane – and was right to do so.

Injuries set the player back under Ancelotti and he has not quite recovered his place in the squad and will look for a move if the deal is right – and more astonishingly, Real Madrid are thought to be open to offers.

Their loss will be the Premier League’s gain should Varane make the switch and you can see why both the Blues and the notoriously poor at the back Manchester United are desperate to land him.

In the modern game, £35 million is not really that much for a defender and Chelsea will know only too well that if David Luiz is worth £50 million, Varane is worth far more and the amount Los Blancos are asking for is a bargain.

With the Euros coming up in 2016, one thing that Varane will want out of any move is assurances that he will play – and that would certainly be the case at United. With Chelsea, less so, but after Gary Cahill proved himself to be more squad player than skipper material, Mourinho is looking for at least one new central defender and his former protégé fits the bill to a tee.

Chelsea fans. Do you simply have to beat United to the signing of Varane? How good do you think he can be? Let us know your thoughts below, become a guest blogger or tweet us @LaFootyettes.