Real Madrid want long-time Liverpool target as Benzema successor
FT Desk
- Updated: 5 Aug 2022 10:44 BST
- 3 min read
Real Madrid are chasing Red Bull Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko and Nice forward Amine Gouiri as their potential long-term successors to Karim Benzema.
Real Madrid may be reigning Spanish and European champions, but the club have an eye on the future with star striker Karim Benzema turning 35 in December.
Benzema contributed 44 goals and 15 assists in 46 games across all competitions last season, and is a frontrunner to win the Ballon d'Or in October, but los Blancos remain aware of the need to find his successor.
Name a better player in the world than Karim Benzema right now 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jVTaF1ZPBh
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) June 5, 2022
According to Spanish sports programme Radioestadio Noche, Real see Sesko and Gouiri as two viable options, although they face competition for the former's signature in particular.
Sesko scored as Salzburg beat Liverpool 1-0 in pre-season, and one moment of skill - in which he controlled the ball and tricked his way past two markers - left Jurgen Klopp in awe and blew up on social media.
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Rated at €12m by Football Transfers in-house algorithm, he could now cost significantly more with a bidding war.
Gouiri has thus far sailed rather more under the radar, although Spanish newspaper Sport report that Real still hope Nice will reduce their €40m asking price for the France Under-21 attacker.
Real's plan would be to sign a forward and then loan them back to their current club for the time being. At 19 and 22 respectively, that could be a good fit for both, although Sesko's stock is rising fast.
How good are Sesko and Gouiri?
Sesko is a hulking 6'4" striker who is already a full international with Slovenia. He has drawn comparisons with fellow former Salzburg striker Erling Haaland, and contributed his 11 goals and seven assists last season at a rate of one every 87 minutes last season.
Gouiri has a slightly different profile. A Lyon academy graduate like Benzema, he stands at 5'11" and played off the left flank after joining Nice in 2020 before being used increasingly as a striker last season, in which he scored 12 and late on 10 more.
Real are looking for a player who, like Benzema, can make and take chances, and they would do well to win the race for either player.
