Chelsea loses out on Karim Benzema, who is expected to stay at Al-Ittihad
Sportswriter David Ornstein has updated readers on Karim Benzema’s potential move to Chelsea and stated that the striker will stay at Al-Ittihad for the time being despite some problems with the team.
The striker is reportedly eager to return to Europe, and Manchester United is also interested in adding the forward to their roster on loan. Chelsea has also made a loan bid for the former Real Madrid player.
In the meantime, the Blues have added Roberto Firmino and Jhon Duan to their list of strikers and are intensifying their search for one, possibly as a temporary solution.
EXCL: To sign Benzema, Chelsea has reached out to Al Ittihad! 😡🔵
Initial proposal already filed; Ittihad was turned down; loan amount was less than anticipated.
🌑🌷 Benzema wants to leave the Premier League in January, and Chelsea is one of the teams negotiating a deal for him.
— @fabrizio_romen0, Fabrizio Romano January 15, 2024
However, Ornstein stated on The Daily Transfer Briefing that as of right now, he believes the striker and the team will speak and resolve the problems, which could lead to Benzema staying at the team despite interest from other clubs:
According to what I understand, Karim Benzema intends to remain in the Saudi Pro League. That is the competition’s goal, and it also applies to his club, Al-Ittihad, even though there is a current problem and there have been rumors that he isn’t showing up for training camps, etc.
“I’ve been informed that he will be reintegrated into training, that meetings will occur—I believe some are scheduled for Dubai later this week—and that they will work to resolve the situation.”
It would have been difficult to sign him even if he had been available because the Saudi organization would have demanded a loan fee and might have even told us to pay his high salary. However, we can consider other choices. Firmino is another option, but it would be foolish to sign Duan given that we already have Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson. Why add another young player when we already have two?
We still have good options if we don’t end up signing any of them, and if Christopher Nkunku stays healthy until the end of the season, we shouldn’t have too much problem scoring goals. Jackson is beginning to demonstrate his ability to score goals, and Broja will be a reliable backup.
