Kane, Haaland or someone else? Real Madrid's options to replace Benzema

Sam McGuire

• 10 Jun 2023 19:00 BST
• 6 min read

Karim Benzema made the surprise decision to call time on his Real Madrid career earlier this week, rejecting an offer from Los Blancos to sign a contract with Al-Ittihad.

The French forward spent 14 years in the Spanish capital and went from supporting Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to being the main man in a forward line containing Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes.

Benzema scaled his game to new heights following the departure of Ronaldo in 2018. The 35-year-old claimed the Pichichi Trophy during the 2021/22 campaign having scored 27 goals in 32 LaLiga appearances. He was also the highest-scoring player in the Champions League (15) that season as Real Madrid won their 14th European title. These performances resulted in the former Lyon youngster winning the 2022 Ballon d’Or. He’s the first Frenchman to be awarded this since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.

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The expectation was that Benzema would agree a new deal with Real Madrid to remain at the club for at least another season. His decision to depart has forced Florentino Perez to reassess his summer transfer plans.

Up until that point, the focus had been solely on getting Jude Bellingham to the club. Borussia Dortmund wanted a significant amount of money for their midfield star and this was reportedly going to cost Real Madrid a minimum of €100 million. Perez is now going to have to dig deep to find money to finance a deal to bring in a world-class centre-forward.

Real Madrid aren’t in an enviable position right now. Every man and their dog knows they’re in the market for a striker and this adds a premium to transfer fees. With this in mind though, here’s a look at five potential Benzema replacements.

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Real Madrid's striker options

Harry Kane

The most obvious name on the list. The Tottenham Hotspur striker is also reportedly wanted by Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich as he heads into the final 12 months of his deal. There have been murmurs that Daniel Levy may finally decide to cash in on his No.10 in order to arm new manager Ange Postecoglou with the funds needed to put his stamp on things.

Kane has experience playing similar roles to Benzema and he isn’t just a goalscorer. He chipped in with 14 assists during the 2020/21 campaign with Spurs. The 29-year-old would, in theory, be a good foil for the likes of Vinicius Junior having struck up a good understanding with Heung-min Son.

He makes a lot of sense but there are a few things to consider. Nobody truly knows how he will adapt to life outside of the Premier League and he’s 30 in July. There’s every chance he struggles and Madrid are stuck with a high-earner in their 30s who they paid €100m for.

Erling Haaland

This is no doubt the player Perez wants.

They’ve reportedly been courting the prolific forward for years and there was allegedly even a clause in his Manchester City deal that effectively allowed Madrid to get him when Benzema decided his time was up in LaLiga in 2024.

His decision to speed up that process has complicated matters. Madrid aren’t in a position to sign the City No.9 and likely don’t have the finances available to them to strongarm the Premier League champions into even coming to the negotiating table. It could well be the case of the right player, the wrong time for the 22-year-old.

Julian Alvarez

Haaland’s teammate could be a different story though.

The World Cup winner is reportedly a target for Bayern Munich and he could well be on the move this summer having only managed to play a bit-part role in his debut season for the FA Cup winners.

Alvarez had a deceptively good season, scoring nine times in a little over 1,400 minutes in the English top-flight. He also has five goal involvements in 468 minutes in the Champions League. The 23-year-old was also a revelation at the World Cup as Argentina lifted the trophy in Qatar.

He’s too good to be a back-up player and the lure of starting for Real Madrid could be enough for him to agitate for a move away from the Etihad.

Kai Havertz

According to reports, Havertz is on multiple lists. He’s on Real Madrid’s summer wishlist and Chelsea’s potential sales list.

The Blues are believed to want €80m for the Germany international, a similar fee to the one they paid to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen. The 23-year-old hasn’t really kicked on at Stamford Bridge but can you blame him? He signed when Frank Lampard was the manager and he’s since played under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter before Lampard returned on an interim basis.

He hasn’t really been given a settled role and the team has been far from settled and yet Havertz was expected to deliver. The 34-cap international needs a move and Real Madrid need an attacker. He isn’t necessarily as much of a threat as Benzema but his all-round game isn’t far off the former Madrid No.9.

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Roberto Firmino

Firmino is a bit of a wildcard name here. The 31-year-old left Liverpool on a free transfer and is yet to reveal what his next move will be. He’s been linked with multiple teams but nothing has been formalised.

He could do an almost identical job to that of Benzema. Vinicius and Rodrygo could definitely benefit from their compatriot joining. He could do a short-term job for Real Madrid while they weigh up who their next, long-term No.9 should be.