Izuchukwu OkosiNigeria international Victor Osimhen is now a viable option in the transfer window for Real Madrid after the La Liga giants announced on Sunday that the former France striker Karim Benzema will depart the club this summer.
Benzema who has an Algerian heritage but represented France until 2022 spent 14 seasons at Madrid where he won several laurels and was Ballon d’Or 2022 winner.
There had been rumours making the rounds in the media, over his move to Saudi Arabian side, Al Ittihad, and that has been confirmed by a statement released on Sunday by the club.
The decision not to extend the contract of Benzema makes it imperative that the club would need to reinforce their attack before the start of the 2023/2024 campaign.
Osimhen had been linked to the 14-time European champions in recent weeks by the world’s leading football newspapers.
There is also a strong feeling that the Super Eagles star might prefer a chance to play in England where Chelsea and Manchester United are deemed the possible destinations.
Osimhen is valued at €100m albeit with their Serie A triumph and Champions League booty to come, he may not be released by the club owners.
However, a report by many Spanish publications indicate that Osimhen who was awarded the Striker of the Season at Napoli where he scored 25 leage goals for new champions Napoli is a likely candidate along with Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic.
Benzema is expected to sign for Al Ittihad, where he will face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Aside Osimhen, another alternative could be Dusan Vlahovic, who is cheaper at circa €80m and benefits from the fact Juventus are out of the Champions League, so looking to recoup some of the money spent on the Serbian.
Rasmus Hojlund of Atalanta is an investment for the future, the Dane probably coming in at €50m after one season in Serie A.
A veteran option for Real Madrid is Harry Kane, increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress from Tottenham Hotspur, who miss out on Europe altogether after a troubled campaign.
He scored 353 goals in 647 games, making him the second highest goal scorer for the La Blancos behind Cristiano Ronaldo who scored 451 goals in 438 matches.
In the assists stats, Benzema edged it over Ronaldo. While the latter has 131 assists to his credit, Benzema who was signed in the summer of 2009 like Ronaldo, had 140.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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