Revolution in Real Madrid’s attack. Star reinforcements must make way for unwanted departures

The shameful defeat in El Clásico gave Real Madrid one rare piece of advice. The dependence of its attack on Karim Benzema is too great and must be addressed immediately. Which players should come in and which should go out?

Karim Benzema is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world in this year’s form, mainly thanks to him Real are leading La Liga by 9 points and have made it through to the Champions League quarter-finals via PSG. But what if he is injured? That’s where a huge problem comes in.

The Frenchman has missed four games since the beginning of February. The results? A cup exit to Bilbao (0-1), a torrid 1-0 win at Granada, a goalless draw with Villarreal and a disgraceful 0-4 defeat to Barcelona. Four out of a possible twelve points, only one goal scored in four games.

An alarming situation was seen in El Clásico. Ancelotti didn’t have Benzema available, from the bench he could have been replaced by Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Isco, Mariano, Gareth Bale was still sitting on the stand. But the Italian coach didn’t trust any of them, and sent Luka Modric to the position of false nine instead. This move absolutely didn’t work out and at half-time Mariano, the least resounding name of the aforementioned, went in. This is a truly alarming state of affairs.

Florentino Pérez is already making plans to make the White Ballet offensive dance again. The duo of Vinícius – Benzema are already working gracefully, but they need a third in the party and reliable substitutes in the rotation.

PSG’s Kylian Mbappé is an almost certain arrival. He alone should elevate Real Madrid’s offense, plus he gets along great with Benzema. But according to the Spanish media, with Benzema’s absence, President Pérez has realised that he won’t play forever, injuries may come more often and so he will go after Erling Haaland all the harder.

But the arrivals of two world stars must make way for the departures. Eden Hazard should leave for sure, he’s just sitting on the bench at Real, he hasn’t featured for a minute in the last five games. There is interest in him in the Premier League, namely Arsenal or Newcastle.

Luka Jovic is another player who has to leave to kick-start his career again. the 24-year-old striker has not sat well with coach Ancelotti, not even getting a minute in the last seven games. He himself recently informed the management that he wants to leave, making his departure almost certain.

Gareth Bale is out of contract after the season and the Santiago Bernabéu will be happy to part with him. Although he had a key role in Real’s successes from 2014-2018, his behaviour in recent years has pitted the entire white section of Madrid against him.

Mariano Díaz is a tricky case. The 28-year-old striker has hardly played at all and his start in El Clásico was only his fifth this season. Real are trying as hard as they can to get rid of him, but Mariano doesn’t want to leave. Last summer he said that being a Real Madrid player is an honour and he has no intention of leaving the club.

Real Madrid have even found him a job at Rayo Vallecano, where he has arranged to have an even bigger salary than he has at the Bernabéu. But Mariano refused to leave. His contract runs until 2023 and he wants to keep it at all costs.

Arrivals

Kylian Mbappé – PSG – 90% probability
Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund – Probability – 55%

Departures

Eden Hazard – Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea – Probability – 95%
Luka Jovic – Frankfurt, Newcastle, ? – Probability – 99 %
Gareth Bale – Career end, ? – Probability – 100 %
Mariano – ? – Probability – 30%

Should everything go according to plan, Real would have a quality double in all three attacking positions.

Mbappé – Haaland – Vinícius
Rodrygo – Benzema – Asensio

Source: Real Madrid