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Real Madrid have endured quite an indifferent season this time around as the club has failed miserably in their defence of the La Liga title. However, the European champions are well on their course to another shot at the eternal European glory as they have now attained a one-goal lead in the away fixture of the two-leg semifinal against Bayern Munich. However, if there has been one thing persistent with this Real Madrid side, it is the inconsistency in their forward line. Zinedine Zidane’s niche tactical nous has helped them churn out effective and impressive results.
The Frenchman has rotated the forward line quite a bit with the only exception of Cristiano Ronaldo, as the Portuguese star has been a constant presence in the starting XI. The constant poor form of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema might force Real Madrid to look into other options to beef up their attacking personnel. It is the World Cup year too and one might expect the current Champions League holders to splash the cash on the best players once the tournament gets over, as is their characteristic. Here, we look at seven such forwards who might be on the club’s radar this summer.
#7 Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
The Lazio striker has finally been able to rope in some consistency in his game and continued his good run of form from last season to this campaign in prolific fashion. The strong, bullish striker is technically adept and has a keen eye in front of the goal. His balance and composure in the front of the goal are laudable, and the stats back up Immobile’s case too.
In 31 Serie A appearances this season, he has scored 29 goals and has assisted in nine goals having created an astonishing 37 goal-scoring chances too. Immobile has an impressive shot accuracy of 60% and is a strong man to ward off the ball. Real Madrid might as well keep an eye on him as the Italian is playing in his peak years and has the talent to make his talent work on the big stage.
Additionally, he might take off some goal-scoring burden off Cristiano too, and his poacher instincts will help Real make the most use of opportunities created by players like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Immobile is strong in the air too, and that would help him finish off chances by Real's attack-minded fullbacks like Marcelo and Dani Carvajal who always like to speed up on the flank and to put in a couple of testing deliveries into the box.
#6 Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
There are few better players in European football once Eden Hazard starts playing in full flow and elegance. The Belgian is simply class personified as his technique and balance on the ball, combined with his vision and a calm head inside the penalty box makes him one of the best footballers in the world.
However, inconsistency has been an issue that he has found hard to tackle through as the Belgian has failed to regularly sustain a certain level of performance. However, it should be noted that a major factor for this inconsistency has been owing to certain managerial decisions that haven’t worked in his favor; such as Antonio Conte playing him as a false 9 for a significant period of time this season. In the Premier League, Hazard has scored 12 goals in 30 appearances.
He has also created 77 goal-scoring chances, but only three of them have resulted in assists and that goes on to highlight the prolificacy of his teammates. An offer from the biggest club in the world would be enticing enough for Hazard to try his luck in Spain. Despite his obvious talents, Isco would relish the support and the presence of another chance-creator in the lineup.
Hazard would provide many goal-scoring opportunities for forwards like Ronaldo and Marco Asensio, whilst also notching up a goal or two himself. However, his inclusion into the squad could result in the possible ouster of Gareth Bale too.
#5 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
There have been few footballers in this era who have been able to consistently challenge the duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, Antoine Griezmann has regularly shown that he has the potential and mentality to challenge for the top individual spot. Despite not boasting a strong physique as such, he sure does have the close-control and mesmerizing dribbling skills to get past defenders without much hush.
Griezmann has the versatility to function anywhere along the forward line, and has the pace and vision to create and then score off chances on a regular basis. This season, he started off a bit slow but has gained momentum ever since the turn of the year to propel Atletico to the semifinals of the Europa League.
In the league, Griezmann has scored 19 goals and has garnered eight assists too. He deserves to get a better pay, and a move to the cross-city rivals might give him the perfect opportunity to get over the finishing line in European competitions too.
The Frenchman had a decent outing last night when he scored the equalizer against Arsenal away from home to secure a draw. His dribbling, game-awareness and finishing ability all were on display in that goal. Madrid would benefit from his ability to play anywhere across the attacking positions and his ability create and score goals with the same consistency would help them add more firepower to attack.
#4 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Well, Robert Lewandowski himself fuelled the rumors of a move away from Munich by raising doubts over the club’s ambitions in the transfer market. This led to the rumors that the Pole would be on the radar of Real Madrid and a player of his caliber quite certainly deserves to play at the Bernabeu too.
He is fast, tall, strong and has the perfect technique to pile up goals each season long. Lewandowski likes to play on the shoulders of the last defender and his timely runs into the box, coupled with the instinctive poacher ability to strike the ball neatly helps him score goals in abundance and with some surreal consistency too. In the Bundesliga, Lewandowski has scored 28 goals in 28 matches whilst having assisted once too.
His ambition and mental strength match up to that of Ronaldo himself, and Real Madrid might as well entice Bayern with an exciting offer to lure away their prized possession soon enough eh? Moreover, since Karim Benzema has seemed to forgotten his goal-scoring boots back in France, Lewandowski's inclusion in the team will ensure more goals, as Ronaldo seems to be the only consistent goal-scorer in the team as of now.
Ironically, Real struggled in the early part of the season and it is unsurprising that it coincided with Ronaldo's poor run of form. They fell behind in the race for the La Liga title at that point of time and hence Lewandowski will help Ronaldo share some goal-scoring responsibilities too.
#3 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Real Madrid calling?
The English sensation has been on an absolute roll this season as Kane managed to continue his amazing consistency albeit a couple of injuries that kept him out of action for some parts of the season. Kane is not the fastest bloke on a football pitch. However, he times his runs well and knows a bit or two about deceiving defenders with his footwork. He links up with the other forwards extremely well and is one of the safest players to put the ball at the back of the net from any angle.
Kane tends to drop down a line at times to bully the opposition defenders with his physique. He holds up the ball pretty well and is in the right position at the right time usually. Kane exudes confidence and has the mental strength to cope up with the pressure that comes along while playing for Real Madrid. This season, he has scored 25 goals from 33 appearances in the Premier League and has assisted twice too.
It should be considered that he was troubled with some persistent knee injuries over the course of the season, and that has kind of hampered his sheer goal-scoring ability. The talent is never in doubt though, and Madrid would pull off a major coup if they manage to land up Kane to the Spanish capital.
Especially at such a young age of 24-years-old he has shown immense potential and backed it up accordingly splendid performances. Kane can at least guarantee a decade of excellent service to Real Madrid and the current European champions would solve a long-term issue as according to his fitness standards and undeniable talent, Kane would be the perfect fit for Real Madrid.
#2 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Probably the biggest surprise of this season, Mo Salah has shot into limelight in such a short period of time that we tend to forget the years of hardship that he had to endure to attain this level of success. With his dazzling pace and dribbling, coupled with a silky touch and flair inside the box, Salah has proven out to be a tormentor for opposition teams this season.
He has been scoring goals for fun from the right wing, and his left foot is working out magic and class that is rather unseen in the English game. Salah can score goals, create them, thread through balls and then slot in penalties. The Egyptian has developed to become an all-round forward that Liverpool had been missing in their lineup for so long.
Salah has already scored 31 goals from 33 Premier League appearances, and he has assisted nine goals too. In the Champions League, Salah has scored ten goals and notched four assists in 11 appearances.
Moreover, the consistency in his game has been enviable as such and Liverpool have greatly benefitted from this too. Real Madrid would surely keep an eye on the Egyptian magician, but it would take a huge bid from them to take the man away from Merseyside.
Real had signed Gareth Bale in 2013 to solve their right-wing issues, but the Welshman has been unable to pick up his form due to regular injury layoffs. Salah, on the other hand, provides a much younger, fitter and better-scoring alternative to Bale in that respect.
The Egyptian would continue to play on the right-wing and that would in no way disrupt the rhythm of Cristiano on the left-wing or as a striker. Salah is threatening during counter attacks and Real have so far been renowned for their quick, counter-attacking play and the Egyptian would seamlessly fit into their style of play too.
#1 Neymar (PSG)
Real Madrid have known to be a team who can buy off any of their transfer targets (well of course, until Ed Woodward appears into the scene). The early part of this century saw them pull off the most controversial transfer of all time by activating the then Barcelona captain Luis Figo’s release clause. Now, after 18 years, they stand a chance of bringing in another former Barcelona star. Cristiano Ronaldo will turn 34 next year.
Due to his incredible fitness and athleticism, Ronaldo has managed to ward off any doubts regarding his longevity. However, like all of us, even the Portuguese star is a human and hence Real Madrid would be eager to hire someone with the same demeanor, class, arrogance, and passion to succeed.
And as well know, players do not come better than Neymar Jr. The Brazilian made a move to Paris last summer, but it is a well-known fact that Ligue 1 fails to live up to his standards and the man literally toyed with the opposition until his horrific injury forced him to miss the rest of the season.
In 20 appearances in the Ligue 1 this season, Neymar scored 20 goals and further played an assist in 13 other goals too. Bloody, hell! That’s criminal mate…Bring the lad to Spain again, and both he and Real Madrid could turn out to form a brilliant collaboration, something that could dominate the European football in years to come.
Neymar oozes class and dynamism, class and quality every time he gains the possession of the ball. His tendency to strike goals, create them and dismantle the opposition is synonymous with great Real Madrid players of the past. He would also fit into the left-wing that has been vacated by Ronaldo for some time since he shifted to a more central position.
This deal might involve a lot of controversies, but, well, Real Madrid have hardly shied away from them anyways, have they?
