With a potential swoop for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland in the offing, Real Madrid are considering what’s required to close the deal and there’s apparently one crucial detail that will help them to decide.
According to AS and reported by the Daily Mail, current Los Blancos front man, Karim Benzema, holds the keys to whether the transfer takes place or not, given that he has been an undisputed starter for the majority of the time he’s been at the Santiago Bernabeu and certainly since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus.
With Haaland a traditional centre-forward, a true No.9 if you prefer, his potential switch to the Spanish capital would mean that the Frenchman would have to move out to one of the wings, with Eden Hazard potentially on the other.
That isn’t a situation that would please Zinedine Zidane according to AS, and that’s because some of Benzema’s best work for Real has come since Ronaldo’s departure. Importantly, that’s because he’s been allowed to play in his natural central role.
At 32 years of age, the Frenchman arguably has a maximum of two or three years left at the top level. If he insists on seeing out that period as Los Blancos’ main man up front, then it would appear that any move for Haaland is destined to fail.