Amine Gouiri: Nice president responds to Real Madrid interest in striker | OneFootball

Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has revealed he has had no contact from Real Madrid over the future of striker Amine Gouiri.

Real are on the lookout for cover for 34-year-old Karim Benzema this summer, having already offloaded backup strikers Luka Jovic and Borja Mayoral. Mariano Diaz remains at the club but has just one year left on his contract and could be sold as well, though recent reports suggest he is happy to run down his deal.

Among the rumoured options for Real is Gouiri. The 22-year-old has managed 28 goals and 18 assists in 85 appearances for Nice since joining from Lyon in 2020, and reports from Spain have suggested that a €40m bid has been lodged by Real.

However, Rivere has quickly stepped in to quash the speculation.

"I heard these rumours just like you did," the president told Prime Video. "But they did not come to our office, I had no contacts with Real Madrid for Gouiri."

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Benzema, who turns 35 in December, continues to play at the highest level, racking up 44 goals and 15 assists in just 46 games last year to force his way towards the top of the Ballon d'Or rankings, but the Frenchman is obviously in the twilight of his career.

Plans to replace him with Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland collapsed earlier this summer as PSG and Manchester City spoiled the fun, leaving Real to find an alternative solution.

There is reported interest in Bayer Leverkusen's 17-year-old Iker Bravo, who left the Barcelona academy last summer, although the teenager is not seen as a possible signing for the first team just yet.