Analysis: Should Real Madrid bring in €40m-rated promising striker as Karim Benzema back-up? | OneFootball

Real Madrid tempted fate to a certain extent last season with only Luka Jovic and Mariano Diaz as alternatives to Karim Benzema. They proved they were right to do so as the French striker put together a Ballon d’Or-winning season. Yet this campaign they have seen the flipside of the coin, with only Mariano remaining, and Benzema failing to remain fit and sharp for long stretches of the season.

The 35-year-old has been getting progressively better with age for some time, but has been forced to put the breaks on this season. It has led to many questioning their decision not to provide Carlo Ancelotti with proper back-up this season in order to give Benzema ample rest.

The departure of Jovic perhaps was an argument against doing so. Jovic was signed to be Benzema’s understudy, and eventually take over from the Frenchman, at a considerable cost of €64m. He failed to get either the game time or the confidence in order to be a success.

Ahead of the summer, it begs the question as to how Real Madrid should approach the issue. Already Ancelotti has confirmed that Alvaro Rodriguez will be promoted to the first team next season, which should provide more cover for Benzema. They will trust the Frenchman until at least 2024, with perhaps a chance of a major name coming in that summer.

According to Fichajes, Los Blancos have been keeping tabs on 20-year-old Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund. Scoring his first international hat-trick last week, Hojlund has 14 goals and 5 assists to his name with Atalanta in just 33 appearances.

Hojlund has been dubbed the new ‘Erling Haaland’, as a large and powerful runner, exhibiting good pace too. Like Haaland, he has a close connection with the goal, and is a natural poacher. Arsenal and Juventus have also been linked with him.

The Danish youngster has certain pros to his game that mean he could perhaps operate with Benzema as Los Blancos pursue goals. He would be able to occupy defenders in the box and stretch defences backwards as Benzema drops off.

Yet there are some similarities with Jovic too. Hojlund may ultimately turn out more effective, but he is enjoying his first season at the top level and scoring goals. He has shown more ability to link play than Jovic, but perhaps would suffer from not playing at this early stage of his career. Particularly if they intend on signing another major, it risks stunting Hojlund’s development.

It represents a tricky conundrum for Florentino Perez and Real Madrid. While their policy of only spending significant money on younger talents is a financially sensible one, for some players it can be something of a risk to bring in a player unlikely to play much. Particularly with strikers, where confidence plays such an important part in their game, and the media attention is hyper-focused, that risk is heightened.