Karim Benzema (Official: Signed By Madrid)

[Drew9]

ALEX FERGUSON CHASES KARIM BENZEMA
United boss will target Lyon ace to replace Carlos Tevez


KARIM BENZEMA - target

By DAVID HARRISON, 10/01/2009

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has made striker Karim Benzema his main summer transfer target - and that will mean the end of Carlos Tevez at Manchester United.

The United boss is a long-time admirer of Lyon’s Benzema, who made a stunning impact when the two clubs met in the Champions League last season.


Fergie will turn his attention to the Frenchman, 21, who has admitted that he will be on the move at the end of the current campaign.


But Fergie will face fierce competition from both Real Madrid and Barcelona for Benzema, who has become the most wanted young player in Europe.


It could push the price over the £40million mark but Fergie will be willing to splash the whole of his summer transfer budget on Benzema. Fergie From Back Page


famously fell out with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas who accused the United manager of tapping up Benzema a year ago.


Aulas said at the time: “Give us £45million and Cristiano Ronaldo and you can have him.”


The future of Tevez as a United player now looks doomed. They have baulked at the £32m asking price for the Argentine international and Fergie believes the money would be better spent on Benzema.


He is joint top scorer in this season’s Champions League with five goals. His 20 strikes last term helped fire the French club to their seventh successive League title.

To be fair Carlos looks increasingly more like a soon to be ex United player every day, but this is one of the only players i would like more than Tevez. Whats Peoples thoughts?

[thekeanefella]

if we are to lose tevez , then we have to go for benzema , he would be perfect for us and he would give the team a different dimension.
he is the only striker out there thats good enough to make a serious impact at united.

[Drew9]

I agree, i would hate to see Tevez leave but maybe it will work out for the best for us if a genuine out and out forward comes in, i think we need a player that will turn and go the other way and run in behind and thats exactly what Benzema would give us. However he couldnt be left on the bench week in week out like Carlos, could he ?

[RedForceRising]

I think the Tevez situation is extremely unfortunate. The circumstances surrounding his transfer are just so ill-fated.

I'll repeat myself in brief - Tevez has endeared himself to Old Trafford faithful, but I do not believe he is the solution our goal-scoring conundrum.

I would welcome Karim Benzema whom I regard as a future Ballon d'Or winner, with open arms. His qualities are exactly what we need and would compliment Rooney & berba more than Tevez.

He has height, is two-footed, can head the ball, is clinical and is a winner.

Unless Fergie is going to sell Campbell and loan out Welbeck next season, I would gladly let tevez pass and bring Benzema into the fold. He might not stay with us for long, but in the short time he is at OT, a whole lot could be achieved.

[TheManc]

I would personally drive Tevez to Madrid, Campbell to Hull and Benzema to OT if there was a chance of this happening.

Benzema is my 2nd most wanted signing(after Eto'o) and him and Rooney would be a dream IMO.

I hate reading these articles though as I no there is no hope of it happening. Benzema has said himself he dreams or Madrid and he is a stubborn character. Sound familiar?

[ScottE335]

Source of this news article? and any proof of this information?

Tevez deserves to stay, he scored some pretty important goals last season and is committed to the club. Benzema would be a great player to have however.

[canto]

I think the Tevez situation is extremely unfortunate. The circumstances surrounding his transfer are just so ill-fated.

I'll repeat myself in brief - Tevez has endeared himself to Old Trafford faithful, but I do not believe he is the solution our goal-scoring conundrum.

I would welcome Karim Benzema whom I regard as a future Ball d'Or winner, with open arms. His qualities are exactly what we need and would compliment Rooney & berba more than Tevez.

He has height, is two-footed, can head the ball, is clinical and is a winner.

Unless Fergie is going to sell Campbell and loan out Welbeck next season, I would gladly let tevez pass and bring Benzema into the fold. He might not stay with us for ling, but in the short time he is at OT, a whole lot could be achieved.

agree with that 100% thers nothing i can really add or say that you havent siad

[thekeanefella]

However he couldnt be left on the bench week in week out like Carlos, could he ?

no chance , and carlos aint too happy with it either.
that will always be a problem .

[canto]

no chance , and carlos aint too happy with it either.
that will always be a problem .

carrick hargreaves(when fit) if not than fletcher



ronaldo rooney berba


benzeema


problem solved? that line up is orgasmic

[Drew9]

carrick hargreaves(when fit) if not than fletcher



ronaldo rooney berba


benzeema


problem solved? that line up is orgasmic

As great as that may seem the team has to have balance doesnt it, and can you really see Berba sprinting down the left flank ? ermm i cant quite picture it. If im honest i blame the Berbatov deal for all this happening to Carlos, i have rarely seen the big Bulgarian do anything out of the ordinary that has really been that better than what Tevez can give us which annoys me, last season we won the double didn't we, my point is if it aint broke why try and fix it ? Back to the matter in hand, Benzema is a quality player and im sure we'd all welcome him.

[RedForceRising]

As great as that may seem the team has to have balance doesnt it, and can you really see Berba sprinting down the left flank ? ermm i cant quite picture it. If im honest i blame the Berbatov deal for all this happening to Carlos, i have rarely seen the big Bulgarian do anything out of the ordinary that has really been that better than what Tevez can give us which annoys me, last season we won the double didn't we, my point is if it aint broke why try and fix it ? Back to the matter in hand, Benzema is a quality player and im sure we'd all welcome him.

Berba's touch and passng makes Tevez look "workman-like". Actually, It would have been good anf fair Tevez if fergie had bought Benzema or Eto'o instead of berbatov, but now that he's at OT and I've seen his control and passing I can understand why.

You can give Berbatov the ball and he won't lose it even if there are several defenders on him and when he gets in trouble, he will just play a tidy pass to an available team mate. His passing can make defenders scramble and run to cover ground.

How's this formation?

Benzema

Rooney - - Berbatov - - Ronaldo

Carrick - Hargreaves

Evra - Vidic - Ferdinand - Brown

VDS

[Drew9]

the formation above is what dreams are made of to be honest, but i suppose we'll have the same old excuses, about not getting the best out of Rooney because he's out on th left flank to much but yes on paper it looks great, i think Berba is a talent dont get me wrong, i just dont think he's exactly what we needed.

[RedForceRising]

the formation above is what dreams are made of to be honest, but i suppose we'll have the same old excuses, about not getting the best out of Rooney because he's out on th left flank to much but yes on paper it looks great, i think Berba is a talent dont get me wrong, i just dont think he's exactly what we needed.

Well, unfortunately he's already been purchased and I don't think fergie is in the habit of selling after one season.

How about

Benzema

Rooney - - - - - - -

Ribery - Carrick - Hargreaves - Ronaldo

Evra - - Vidic - - Ferdinand - - Brown

VDS

[Clarky101]

benzema said he didnt wanna play in england tho so i cant see this happening

[Wazza1989]

i won't believe it before i see it. Fergie said it himsefl, that we shouldn't believe anything the papers say. And this is something i won't believe cause there's no official interview about this from at least one of the sides.

[hafiz_shukri00391]

It's hard to say good bye to Tevez.....But Benzema is to hot to refuse !! But I think SAF will continue show his faith on Tevez as he see in his future plan !!! For me, I want to keep Tevez as he got that tireless ability to help us continue retaining our title league.....Even Benzema can prove his worth in BPL, I'm sure he will need time to adapt the English Football style....

[CaptainRoyKeane]

Gutted to replace Tevez, but yeah we are missing a player exactly liek Benzema, but i just love watching Tevez battling on!

[red dave]

Lets face facts the whole Teves affair is a joke !!

Owned by a third party how did this happen ? Im starting to wonder whether United ever had any intentions of buying Teves .

He is a great player but if losing him meant we would sign Benzema I would have to go with Benzema he is looks the buisness to be honest .

This kind of transfer should stop now Fifa or Uefa should step in and ban this sort of agreement as the third party is holding out for a unrealistic fee for his player .

anything over 20 million for Teves is over priced if you ask me .

[Warwick Road]

U took the words wright out of my mouth...

[spellbound]

Lets face facts the whole Teves affair is a joke !!

Owned by a third party how did this happen ? Im starting to wonder whether United ever had any intentions of buying Teves .

He is a great player but if losing him meant we would sign Benzema I would have to go with Benzema he is looks the buisness to be honest .

This kind of transfer should stop now Fifa or Uefa should step in and ban this sort of agreement as the third party is holding out for a unrealistic fee for his player .

anything over 20 million for Teves is over priced if you ask me .

Since its for the clubs best first I can agree with you about the last part. But since we wasted 30+ on a striker this last summer why not splash the big cash for a Champions League winning striker?

Ok, to the thread. Benzema for Tevez, sure...with the striker force we got now I guess Benz fits in better. Eventhough I've seen him roam at the wings in Lyon. He didnt look comfy there but still have been put out on the wing. From the games Lyon played against us he looks to be more comfortable in and around the box so its a good choice. And maybe he fits into the play better then what Tevez do now when we already sealed the Berbatov deal.

My personal view would be to keep Tevez though. But there's a difference of what I want and what may be the best for the team.

VIVA United and nothing or no one else.