According to reports from The Express this morning, Real Madrid are willing to part with Arsenal and Manchester United target Karim Benzema if a club meets their £40million valuation.
The 27 year-old boasts 133 goals in 281 appearances for Los Blancos and has claimed a La Liga title, a Champions League title and two Copa del Reys since arriving in the Spanish capital from Lyon in 2009.
Recent reports have claimed his spell in the Spanish capital could come to an abrupt end this summer, with new Bernabeu boss Rafa Benitez intending to utilise Cristiano Ronaldo as a lone centre-forward next season.
>>> Keep up to date with ALL of the Premier League’s confirmed transfers <<<
That’s lead to reports of interest from Manchester United, whilst Arsenal have already seen a £32million bid rejected.
Benzema’s agent, Karim Djaziri, has insisted he’s ‘1000%’ certain the France international will still be a Real Madrid player by the end of the summer window, and those claims have since been backed up by Sky Sports’ La Liga correspondent Guillem Balague on Twitter.
But The Express, who cite The Metro, claim the former European champions would be prepared to sell the 6 foot 2 front-man this summer if a suitor meets their £40million valuation.
That would allow Real to finance a move for Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus as Benzema’s direct replacement. The Black-Yellows hierarchy insisted the German international won’t be sold earlier this week, but anything seems possible amid a summer of wholesale change at Westfalen.
To be honest I think Benzema would be an excellent signing for any top four side; his style suits the league, yet he’s still a very talented player on a technical level. While initially he struggled to live up to his early hype, I think he has quietly improved over the past few seasons and has become a key player for Real Madrid, which goes a bit unnoticed as he’s always in the shadow of the likes of CRonaldo, Bale, Di Maria, Ozil, Alonso, Kroos, etc…
Arsenal, Man Utd, and arguably even Man City all need a new centre-forward, and other than Bony at City, none of them really have a player in Benzema’s mould. Chelsea seem set for strikers (Costa, Rémy, Falcao) but in Mourinho’s shoes I’d be willing to bite their hands off, even if it means the on-loan Falcao is stuck for playing time.