Today’s Evening Standard reports that Real Madrid have told Arsenal that the French international striker Karim Benzema will be made available for transfer in January.
Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to sign Benzema in the summer but new Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti – already under pressure following a patchy start to the new season – is reported to have lost faith in Benzema and wishes to replace him with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez.
The 25-year-old has scored only two goals in eight games for Real this term, and last week ended a 1,222-minute international goal drought when he scored for France in their friendly with Australia.
Benzema’s stock has fallen precipitously in little over a month if the report is true. It is believed the Gunners were prepared to pay in the region of £40 million for the striker in the summer, who cost Real £30 million when he joined them from Lyon in 2009.
The Standard says Madrid will now accept £20 million for the Frenchman to help finance their own January move for the Uruguayan Suarez, who was himself the subject of a £40 million bid by Arsène Wenger over the summer. Madrid are also said to be interested in Manchester City’s Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero.
Doubtful all the pieces will fall into place in January
Wenger is known to admire Benzema, but the player is widely perceived as not having fulfilled in Madrid the potential he showed when he emerged at Lyon. Statistics, however, show that Benzema has improved his goals-to-games ratio during his time at the Bernabéu. He scored 43 goals in 112 appearances for Lyon, and has netted 57 times in 132 outings for Madrid.
While his performances so far this season may have disappointed Ancelotti, £20 million seems like a reasonable deal in the current, inflated marketplace for a player who has scored at almost one goal every two games in four seasons in La Liga.
However, as Liverpool are likely to be even less keen to lose Suarez in mid-season than they were when Arsenal bid for him in the summer, it seems doubtful these particular dominoes will fall until the end of the season.
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