Ancelotti and Real Madrid not on the same page over centre-forward targets – report

Karim Benzema’s future at Real Madrid is no longer as secure as it appeared a few days ago. His renewal for an additional season appeared to be only a matter of time with a complete agreement having been reached. However, his situation has taken a radical turn in the last 24 hours.

An economically lucrative offer of €200 million now has the Frenchman’s attention and he is seriously studying the possibility of moving to Saudi Arabia. He is, at this point, closer to leaving Real Madrid than staying.

The turn of tables now has the club rearranging priorities ahead of the summer transfer window. The centre-forward position that was seen as a secondary objective now becomes the prime priority.

According to reports from Mario Cortegana, there is a clash of ideas been manager Carlo Ancelotti and the club on that front.

The manager wants to sign a top-class number nine come June. The options on the table with such criteria would appear to be Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen.

However, Real Madrid are focusing on a cheaper option for next season and see Joselu or Roberto Firmino as possible signings.

The Merengues hope to lure one of Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024 as a Galactico signing. Needless to say, that explains their idea of looking for a temporary solution.

At the same time, however, Ancelotti’s concern is warranted too. After all, he will be left with no direct backups if Benzema bids farewell next month and will have to go an entire season with subpar options. One of Kane, Osimhen, or Dusan Vlahovic would make his job easier.

One can expect the situation to take a definitive turn in the coming weeks after the Frenchman takes a final decision on his next step.