It’s well-known that Real Madrid currently possess the best No. 9 in the world, Karim Benzema. He has bailed them out on several occasions and is their main man in attack. But, Benzema is aging like fine wine, and considering the fact that there’s a big season ahead consisting of World Cup fixtures and club competitions, Real Madrid need to find Big Benz a backup to ensure he is in good shape, and to ease some of the pressure off him.
Here in this article, we will be looking at three consistent goal-scoring backup options for Karim Benzema.
Raul de Tomas, Espanyol
De Tomas was a Madridista from 2014-2019 and no one can know the magnitude of the club and its values better than him.
Though his earlier stint with the first stint wasn’t really a memorable one, de Tomas seems to finally have his career back on track, loaning out to several clubs before settling down at Espanyol, and becoming a clinical finisher.
De Tomas seems to have gotten a lot of confidence from his loan spells and has discovered new dimensions to his game. He’s just back from the biggest season of his career in which he netted 17 goals and bagged 3 assists in 34 games, notably scoring twice in a 2-1 win vs Real Madrid at their home ground. The fact that he would settle for being a backup when he could be a starter doesn’t really seem logical to me, but de Tomas may be able to compete for a position in the starting XI one day.
Iago Aspas, Celta Vigo
Aspas is a favorite of mine, and I think he’s had a remarkable career in La Liga. He primarily plays as a forward but can create as well as score. Aspas has netted 135 goals and provided 49 assists in 284 games, and these statistics come at a struggling club like Celta Vigo.
The “Magician of Moana” had a brief disappointing stint at Liverpool, but returned to Celta shortly after, even stronger. He’s got a great work ethic, and a desire to prove that he’s up for challenges.
A noteworthy performance by him was the one on Nov. 6 2021, in the 3-3 comeback draw against Barca where Aspas scored a brace to help his side come back from 3–0 down (Istanbul 2005 vibes), including a goal in the sixth minute of added time. Performances like that show you how decisive a player is, and that’s exactly the impression it had on me.
Aspas is 34, which is a decent age for a striker, but he’s got plenty to offer. His contract runs out in 2023, and now is the time for Madrid to pounce on the opportunity.
Edin Dzeko, Inter Milan
Edin Dzeko has had a great start to his Inter career this season, bagging 17 goals and 10 assists in 49 games. It looks like he’s getting better with age and experience, and still has a lot more to offer. We saw his brilliance at Roma, but to emulate that consistently and on big occasions is the sign of a top striker, and there couldn’t be a better replacement for Karim. Inter Milan were looking for the man who could take over the striker’s mantle from Romelu Lukaku and inspire the side in the league, and Dzeko did just that.
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The only two drawbacks to this deal are Inter Milan’s hesitation to sell, and Dzeko’s age, but he could be a good backup, or even strike partner for a year or two.
Only time will tell.
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