The Guardian fans the flames of late spring football rumour by stating that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal thinks that Karim Benzema is the man for the number 9 job next season:
Karim Benzema is being monitored by Louis van Gaal, with the Real Madrid player viewed by the Manchester United manager as an answer to their goalscoring problems. If he does decide to make a move for the striker, who would cost in the region of £40m, they may have to fight off interest from Arsenal.
The source suggests that, with Real Madrid desperate to sign David de Gea from Manchester United, a deal may yet be struck which includes the Spaniard going the other way for a fee in the region of £30m.
Benzema, who scored 22 goals in 46 games for Real Madrid this season, has long been fancied by Manchester United, who tried to sign him when he signed for Madrid in 2009.
Benzema – Comfortably one of the top 5 strikers in Europe
FINAL WORD: We think Benzema is a top bracket footballer. He has just had his best season for Real Madrid which makes it strange that they would want to sell him. We also can’t quite tally the idea of Benzema coming in, in terms of where Wayne Rooney would play. Unless LvG is prepared to drop his captain or continue to play him in midfield, then he would be forced to change his system again before the start of next season, in order to accommodate both players. So it’s a 4-2-3-1 or no Benzema as far as we can see.
So, whiel Benzema would certainly be of the requisite quality to improve the squad, we think that Manchester United will have other priorities this summer.
Let’s see Benzema in action. Manchester United fans: an exciting addition?
