Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur lead race to sign £60m striker

Karim Benzema left Real Madrid in the summer after 14 successful years in the Spanish capital. During that period of time, he became the joint-most decorated player in the club’s history as well as their second-highest goalscorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Los Blancos did not really replace the iconic Frenchman over the summer though.

Yes, they did bring in Joselu and the Spaniard has done very well whenever given a chance. But most people recognise that at 33 years of age, he is not a long-term solution.

Real Madrid are expected to sign a striker with the long-term in sight in the near future. And one of the names doing the rounds of the rumour mill is that of Santiago Gimenez.

The Feyenoord ace is one of the most in-form strikers in all of Europe right now. According to stats from Transfermarkt, Gimenez has scored 15 goals and provided 3 assists in 13 appearances so far this season across all competitions.

Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur lead race to sign £60m striker

Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur appear to be the two frontrunners in the race to sign Gimenez. As reported by GIVEMESPORT, Dean Jones said:

"“From what I have been able to gather so far, a move to Tottenham would be a lot more plausible than a move to West Ham or Fulham because this is a player that is already used to the Champions League and feels he has a place at the very top of the game.“But there are big teams that Spurs are also going to have to win over if they make their interest firm, including Real Madrid. I’m told they are more likely than Barcelona as a landing spot at this moment and, when we start talking about these sorts of things, it’s pretty clear why a club like Fulham might have their work cut out to sign him.“He’s also going to cost big money – I think somewhere towards £60million. But Feyenoord don’t even want to talk about that until the season is over.”"

It is not hard to understand why it might take a transfer fee of around £60 million to sign Gimenez. He is 22 years of age and already playing at a very high level.

Now, it remains to be seen if Real Madrid do end up making a move of that magnitude for a striker who is not proven in a top five European league yet. That being said, Gimenez has played just one Champions League game so far and scored a brace in that, against Lazio.

Of course, Gimenez is not the only striker Real Madrid have been linked with in recent times. There are quite a few others who appear to be on their radar as potential signings.