As rumors of a surprise move to England persist, Chelsea supporters have even more reason to be thrilled about the prospect of signing Karim Benzema this month. Despite having only moved to Saudi Arabia this summer, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner appears amenable to leaving early.
According to Football. London, The possibility that Mauricio Pochettino’s team will discover the solution to their goal-scoring problems from an unexpected source has increased because the Blues are one of several teams looking to sign a new striker this month. A loan deal seems to be the best option anyway, since all Premier League teams are currently being cautious in the market due to tighter financial regulations.
Even with Benzema’s massive salary at Al Ittihad, Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital has successfully cut the amount of money currently spent on weekly player payments by offering long-term incentive contracts. For a high earner like Benzema, that does provide some flexibility, particularly on a six-month contract.
There have been doubts about the 36-year-old; some have pointed to his past interactions with managers—including, at one point in time, Jose Mourinho—as a cause for concern. The fact that Blues great Eden Hazard has nothing but praise for his former teammate, though, is reason enough to believe in the striker.
During his four years at Real Madrid, Hazard was teammates with Karim Benzema and witnessed him elevate his play when Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t there. With more than 350 goals during his 13-year tenure with Los Blancos, Benzema is currently the second-highest scorer in team history. He is among the greatest players of a generation, having contributed over 150 assists, five Champions League victories, and an additional fifteen domestic honors.
Hazard sees himself as more than just a goal scorer. “I believe that he’s the best striker in the world right now, having played with him for three or four months,” the now-retired Belgian stated in 2019, shortly after leaving Stamford Bridge. However, in addition to playing as a striker, he makes others better.”
At Santiago Bernabeu, Hazard and Benzema were supposed to be the leaders of the post-Ronaldo era, but the former Blues player’s injury derailed that. In just 58 games between 2019 and 2023 did the duo play. This includes the two legs of Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League match against Real Madrid, which Thomas Tuchel orchestrated.
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Benzema continued to dash expectations that the same would occur once more. Twelve months later, he won the trophy and the Ballon d’Or again at SW6, where he scored a first leg hat-trick. Even though he is three years older now and a different player, his performance is still of the caliber that makes him one of the most in-demand players in the the world when an opportunity like this comes up.
This is the kind of opportunity that Chelsea cannot miss. They usually regard Hazard’s word as good as any, so for Mauricio Pochettino, it may be all the justification he needs.
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