The 2022-23 season will be the first in history in which club competitions stop for almost a month and a half due to the World Cup. An anomaly that will surely increase the percentage of probabilities of unexpected situations and setbacks in planning. A component of uncertainty that all the big clubs have already foreseen in their physical preparations and peaks in form, more decisive than ever in an unprecedented season. Hence the Real Madrid Do not be in any hurry to reinforce the position of center forward, which, like all the others, is doubled, but in this specific case with a level that is quite distant between the starter and the substitute. After the departure of Mayoral to Getafe, Mariano is the replacement for Benzema and there is no urgency to find another nine with greater guarantees. Calm in the white offices and three possible scenarios.
Do not sign anyone
The departure of the Hispanic-Dominican striker is the wish of Real Madrid. Celta is the last team that has asked about Mariano, but, as he is well known, it does not seem easy for the striker to put an end to his stage at the white club. Not even last summer, when Rayo and Real Madrid agreed to his transfer respecting the entire five million euros net of his file, did Mariano take the step forward. He only has one season left on his contract and he knows that his minutes will be counted on the fingers of one hand, but at the club they are aware that his departure only depends on him and the desire he has to play football, and not to live in Madrid and be part of the white squad, even if it is card number 25.
Mariano moves on that strange scale of priorities. If Madrid ends up being sold, yes, they would definitely be left without a pure replacement for Benzema, but this would not mean that it would go to the market immediately. Ancelotti He has already experimented in preseason with Hazard as a false nine, and last year he also did it with Rodrygo and Asensio. It’s not crazy to say that history could repeat itself this year if Benzema didn’t have a natural replacement. Real Madrid believe they have top-level attackers to replace Karim, if the Frenchman needs rest in a specific game. Perhaps he is not without reason, but he would have a high risk component if Benzema suffered a major physical setback that would take him out for a significant period of time.
Sign in the current market
Hiring a nine in the summer is the second of the three options that Real Madrid has on the table, but for this several conditions must be met. The club does not intend to make any significant outlay for a substitute with capital letters. Benzema’s position, together with Courtois’s, are the only two untouchables for Ancelotti, and that is not compatible with leaving the checkbook in substitutes for both. Karim played last season 46 of the 56 official matches that Real Madrid played, and of those ten that he missed, half of them were by rest once he won the League and during the first rounds of the Cup, which shows that rotations do not go with him. It is true that this season is different because of the World Cup and the event in Qatar increases the risk of injuries in winter, but the indication is clear. Benzema’s nine replacement must be good, nice and cheap, community, and accept without nuance the secondary role that he is going to have.
sign in winter
If Madrid, finally, does not sign in the current summer market, that will not mean that it definitively closes the door to a substitute for Benzema. The winter window, which has not been used in the white team for years, acquires a different status this season. January will be a key month to find out the physical condition of the World Cup players, especially those who reach the last rounds, as is assumed by the Francia de Benzema. If the club considers that Karim’s performance may be affected after his role in Qatar, or the risk of injury is higher than usual, they will take advantage of the winter market to find a player who gives him air, but always under the same premise that if he had signed in the summer. A complement, never a world-class player. That disbursement will come when Benzema leaves Madrid and, at the moment, that option is not contemplated.
