They want a goalscoring number 9
Karim Benzema has been a key player in Real Madrid’s success over the past few years. His complete skillset, his chemistry with Cristiano Ronaldo and his selflessness made him the ideal centre-forward for Madrid, as they built the team around Ronaldo.
Benzema’s job was to facilitate Ronaldo’s goalscoring and he did it exceptionally. But with Ronaldo gone, and Madrid moving into a new era, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see them searching for a more prolific number 9.
According to the reliable Paris United, Madrid have approached Paris Saint-Germain to enquire about the possibility of signing Édinson Cavani. The Uruguayan striker played second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimović at PSG for years before he was finally able to move into the middle.
Le Real les a approché
— Paris United (@parisunited75) July 27, 2018
Then Neymar and Kylian Mbappé came along, and while Cavani stayed in the central role, his relationship with Neymar is fractious and his departure would not be a huge shock.
Cavani leaving would also allow Kylian Mbappé to move inside from the right-wing to the centre-forward position, where he is destined to end up. With the return of Gonçalo Guedes who spent last season on loan at Valencia, PSG would have a winger ready to fill in on the right, on top of Angel Di Maria, whom new coach Thomas Tuchel isn’t keen on keeping.
Cavani is now 31 years old, but has not lost his killer instinct in front of goal. While many in the United Kingdom remember him for missing some sitters in the Champions League, his goalscoring record in France and Italy speaks for itself. At PSG, he has scored 170 goals in 245 matches.
Last season, he bagged 28 league goals. And the season before that, with no Neymar to pander to, he scored 35. Cavani could be exactly what Real Madrid need as they enter the post-Ronaldo era.
