Real Madrid’s bid for Erling Haaland ‘will depend on undisputed starter Karim Benzema’ with the Frenchman set to stay at the Bernabeu until 2022
- Real Madrid are interested in Erling Haaland but must ensure he is ‘the right fit’
- The Norwegian starlet is one of the hottest striking prospects in world football
- But a move to Madrid will hinge on the future of first-choice star Karim Benzema
- The Frenchman is set to stay at the club until the end of his contract in 2022
Any move by Real Madrid to sign Erling Braut Haaland will hinge on long-serving forward Karim Benzema, who is an ‘undisputed starter’ at the club, according to reports from Spain.
Norwegian star Haaland has been making a huge impression since bursting onto the scene in recent years, with the teenager blitzing his way to 40 goals this season.
The biggest clubs in the world are now circling for Haaland, and Madrid are certainly one of the interested parties, but Haaland arriving in the Spanish capital will depend on Benzema, AS claim.
Karim Benzema is currently first choice at Real Madrid is not expected to leave until 2022
The club are interested in Erling Haaland but will have to decide if he would be a fit for them
The Frenchman is currently set to remain with Los Blancos until at least the end of his contract in 2022, and given how he has stepped up in quality since Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, it will be hard for manager Zinedine Zidane to shift him from the starting XI at present, the report says.
The report notes how Benzema has contributed to a much larger percentage of the team’s goals since the Portuguese star and former talisman left for Juventus in 2018.
He netted 24 per cent of their tally this season, with 30 per cent the previous campaign. In the previous two seasons, his goals only accounted for eight and ten per cent respectively.
The way Benzema has stepped up in quality since Cristiano Ronaldo left has been impressive
Haaland is emerging as one of the top strikers in the world but could be ‘a problem’ for Madrid
Manager Zinedine Zidane, right, would find it tough to shift Benzema from the team at present
Madrid must think over the prospect of parting with a big money sum to land Haaland and decide if he is the right fit for the club, it continues.
Signing Haaland would be ‘a problem for Zidane’, AS says, as he would have to adapt to a system that Benzema is already comfortable playing in.
Benzema is one of the longest serving players at Madrid, alongside Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, having been with the Spanish giants for 11 years.
Since joining from Lyon in 2009, he has written his name into club folklore by scoring 241 goals and winning everything in sight – including two LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies.
