Harry Kane: Real Madrid's fate as Karim Benzema exits club

Posted : 06 June 2023

The footballing world was sent into a bit of shock when the biggest club in the world, Real Madrid, announced that sensational French striker Karim Benzema would be leaving the club.

As such, the French hitman would be leaving the Santiago Bernabeu with four La Liga titles (2011–12, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22), three Copa del Rey titles (2010–11, 2013–14, 2022–23), and five UEFA Champions League titles (2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22).

He lifted the Supercopa de España three times, the UEFA Super Cup four times, and the FIFA Club World Cup five times.

Across fourteen seasons with Los Blancos, Karim Benzema was able to rack up 648 appearances, scoring 354 goals and providing 165 assists. These numbers cement his legacy as one of Madrid's all-time greats.

With Benzema's quality and importance in recent years, it is no surprise that many questions are flying around about who will fill his boots at the Bernabeu. Most importantly, the question, "What will Real Madrid's fate be?" has taken a front seat. Africa Sport Network take a critical look at the situation.

The French hitman was tossed into the spotlight when Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for Juventus in the summer of 2018.

Finding himself in a sink-or-swim situation, coupled with doubts over his abilities to lead such a prestigious club's frontline, and the cloud over Ronaldo's departure, Benzema rose to the occasion in grand style and won the most important individual award he could even win, the Ballon d'Or.

Karim Benzema has always been from a special breed of strikers. He can be categorised as one of the pioneers of the creative striker role. The Frenchman was one of the first set of modern strikers that did not just come to life in the 18-yard box.

These strikers had the technique, flair, creativity, and vision to function outside the box, in the midfield, and even on the flanks. When their teams were finding it difficult to build up play, these players could drop deep to aid ball progression and even ball retention when the game-state requested it.

Benzema emerged at the forefront of strikers with this rare combination of abilities (with the exception of Thierry Henry and a few others), and it is no coincidence that he was used in a sort of assist-making machine role when Cristiano Ronaldo was still at the club, as the Portuguese was by far the better finisher.

In totality, Benzema's time in Spain can be categorised into two parts; when he was not the main man (during CR7's time), and when he was the main man (after CR7's time). In both cases, he excelled.

Now that Benzema's exit has been confirmed, it is not surprising that Real Madrid has been linked with a swoop for England and Tottenham Hotspur marksman, Harry Kane.

The English striker is very similar to Karim Benzema in many ways but even superior in one key aspect of his game, finishing.

Like Benzema, Kane is adept at holding up the ball and creating goalscoring chances via penetrative passing. He is also excellent at dropping deep, creating space for runners, and drawing fouls.

A combination of these abilities with killer finishing makes Kane a fearsome marksman. It is no coincidence that he has scored an insane number of goals and provided numerous assists despite playing for a badly-structured team. Another striking similarity is that Kane has excelled in a main man (being the focal point) and provider (providing for Son Heung Min) role, just like Benzema did.

In 435 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, Harry Kane has netted 280 goals and racked up 64 assists. He has won a top scorer award six times in his career, with three coming in the Premier League, one in the world cup, another in the European qualifiers, and the last one in the Europa League qualifying stages.

He has also won four Player of the Year awards with England and Tottenham Hotspur. While trophies may have eluded Kane in his career, he has the perfect opportunity for that at the Santiago Bernabeu.

While there may be concerns over Kane's age, it should be noted that his gameplay is based on technical abilities and intelligent movement as opposed to strikers who base their game on running.

So, at the peak age of 29 (soon to be 30 years old), the Englishman could still deliver top-level performances for the next four or five years, provided injuries do not pile up on him.

In our view, Harry Kane is an excellent replacement to fill in the boots of Karim Benzema. The immediate future of Real Madrid will be in safe hands if Madrid's recruitment team is able to prize him away from Tottenham Hotspur.

Additionally, Harry Kane would be the perfect player and professional for Real Madrid's investment striker Endrick de Sousa to learn from when he turns eighteen and joins the club officially.

Harry Kane: Real Madrid's fate as Karim Benzema exits club

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