Six names have allegedly been added to Real Madrid’s shortlist for a backup striker for the 2022–23 campaign.
Karim Benzema will once again be the team’s captain as Carlo Ancelotti’s team enters the new season after failing to pry Kylian Mbappe away from Paris Saint-Germain.
The La Liga and Champions League champions, though, are expected to search for a new center striker to complement and challenge the 34-year-old.
Both Borja Mayoral and Mariano Diaz are anticipated to depart the team in the upcoming weeks, while Armando Broja, Timo Werner, and Benjamin Sesko are rumored to be interested in joining them at the Bernabeu.
According to Defensa Central, Los Blancos is reportedly evaluating up to six additional attackers, including two more Salzburg teenagers, to replace Benzema in 2022–203.
With only two years remaining on his deal with the Austrian champions, Noah Okafor, a player for Switzerland, has reportedly been suggested as a prospective target.
After Karim Adeyemi left for Borussia Dortmund, the 22-year-old, who had nine goals and nine assists in 21 games played in the top division the previous year, will be expected to carry a larger share of the offensive load this year.
Real is rumored to be monitoring the progress of Okafor’s teammate Roko Simic, who is just eight years younger at 18 and aiming to get to the top-tier senior football.
Simic scored 19 goals in 24 league games while on loan at FC Liefering in the second division last year, finishing third in the top-scorer rankings.
Although he has only played three times for Salzburg’s senior team, Croatia’s young international has scored seven goals in nine UEFA Youth League games for their Under-19 team.
According to the source, Brian Brobbey is also included on the list; however, the 20-year-old has just finalized a permanent transfer from RB Leipzig back to Ajax.
Three Bundesliga attackers, including Sasa Kalajdzic of Stuttgart, who is reportedly on Manchester United’s radar, have also been selected.
Although Mainz 05’s Jonathan Burkardt, who scored 11 Bundesliga goals last season and is known to be liked by people at the Bernabeu, is happy with his present team, the 22-year-old is.
The sixth and last name on the list is Hoffenheim’s 20-year-old Georginio Rutter, who left Rennes to join with the German team in January 2021 for just £675k.
In 33 Bundesliga games last season, Rutter scored eight goals and provided four assists, and he still has four years left on his Hoffenheim deal.
