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The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid this summer was a huge shock to the system for fans of Los Blancos. The Portuguese superstar was an essential part of Real's recent success in Europe and Spain, leaving the Bernabeu as the top scorer in the club's history and a legend in Madrid.
Since his departure, rumours of who might come in to replace Ronaldo have dominated the sports pages around the world. Over the past few weeks, names such as Edison Cavani and Eden Hazard have featured high on the list. However, we are no closer to finding out who Real Madrid has in mind to replace their former talisman.
The Spanish newspaper, Marca, decided to run a poll for Real Madrid fans asking them to choose the best number 9 who could replace the iconic forward. Over 200,000 fans took part in the poll and a surprise name tops the list.
England and Tottenham forward, Harry Kane, easily won out with an impressive 26% of the total votes. Last season's Premier League top scorer and winner of the Golden Boot at the recent World Cup, Kane has been in consistently fine form for both club and country over the past three seasons and it has seemingly not gone unnoticed by fans of Los Blancos.
Coming in joint-second was reported Real Madrid target, Edinson Cavani, and Inter Milan captain, Mauro Icardi with 14% of the votes apiece. Just below the pair is Lyon striker, Mariano, who was born in Spain and has mentioned the Bernabeu as a "dream destination" in the past.
Surprisingly sitting in fifth place is Robert Lewandowski, who not so long ago would have easily topped such a poll of Real Madrid fans. However, the Polish striker has seen his stock drop in recent months and doesn't seem to be a desirable target for fans in Spain's capital.
Here is the result of the poll in full:
Harry Kane - 26%
Edinson Cavani - 14%
Mauro Icardi - 14%
Mariano - 12%
Robert Lewandowski - 12%
Alvero Morata - 8%
Rodrigo - 6%
Other - 5%
Roberto Firmino - 2%
While Harry Kane would be a highly desirable target for any club in the world, he is currently valued at €150 million according to Transfermarkt. Add to that the fact that he just signed a new contract at Spurs in June as the highest paid player ever at the North London club, and it seems that the England striker is unattainable this summer.
However, the path from London to Madrid is well-trodden with previous high-profile transfers between the two clubs including Luka Modric's move in 2012 and Gareth Bale's departure for Spain the year after. So who knows, maybe one day Real Madrid fans will get their wish and see Harry Kane lining up in the number 9 shirt for Los Blancos.
