 After scoring four times in his opening 11 appearances, Blackpool confirmed their desire to sign Varney on a permanent deal in the January 2011 transfer window.Manager Ian Holloway claimed that Blackpool had a "massive clause" in the loan deal which meant they could sign Varney for just £250,000 in the January 2011 transfer window, though Derby denied this saying Varney could be sold to any club and that no deal is in place with Blackpool.Varney scored his fifth for the club with the second in a 2–2 draw at Bolton Wanderers on 22 November 2010 before embarking on a fifteen match goalless run which saw him dropped to the bench for the 1–1 draw at home to Newcastle United on 23 April 2011.