United like the look of Benzema and begin their homework on Lyon's £45m striker
Daniel Taylor
Friday February 22, 2008
The Guardian
Sir Alex Ferguson is to recommend to Manchester United's board that Karim Benzema, the outstanding France striker, should be their primary transfer target this summer, although he is deeply aware that not only is there competition from a clutch of Europe's leading clubs but that Lyon might price him out of the Glazer family's reach.
Benzema's performance in Wednesday's Champions League fixture at Stade de Gerland, when he scored a superb individual goal and gave Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic as torrid a time as they have endured all season, has reinforced Ferguson's belief that he must explore the possibilities of putting him alongside Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in what might become the most feared forward line in the world.
Unfortunately for United, the secret is out and Lyon's president. Jean-Michel Aulas, has set the fee at around €60m (£45.3m). When it was put to him that United might have the financial muscle to tempt away a player L'Equipe has started referring to as L'Etoile Benzema (the star Benzema), Aulas seemed unfazed. "Fine," he said, "they can give us the money - and we will take Cristiano Ronaldo too."
Aulus went on to claim that Benzema, 20, will not leave until Lyon have won the Champions League but his remarks have been widely interpreted in France as the beginning of what promises to be a long and drawn-out transfer saga surrounding a player Jean-Pierre Papin has described as combining the qualities of the two best Brazilians of the past decade. "His power is reminiscent of Ronaldo," the former France striker said. "The stepovers and speed at which he runs with the ball is like Ronaldinho."
Those attributes were evident against United and it is understood that the English champions will sound out Lyon after the teams have played at Old Trafford on Tuesday week. Ferguson has already done some groundwork after being invited to watch one of Lyon's games with Aulas this month and the United manager is also thought to have spoken at length with Gérard Houllier, a former Lyon manager.
Ferguson has been trying to find out about Benzema's personality and will be encouraged by the reports. "I'm optimistic for Karim because he knows what he wants and he has good people around him," said Houllier. "He reminds me a bit of Steven Gerrard - not the way he plays but because of his character and background. Karim, like Steven, will be among the world's top 50 players one day."
The class of Benzema's left-foot shot on Wednesday suggests he may already be there, and it was notable how United's defenders singled him out for praise after the game. "Benzema is not as well known across Europe as he is in France, but Ferguson knows all about him and told us to be particularly wary of him," said Patrice Evra.
"The manner in which he took his goal shows that he is really strong and a huge talent. It is important not to build him up too much but, after [Zinedine] Zidane, he could go on to be one of the greatest French players."
The problem for Ferguson is that Lyon are talking amounts of money which it is unrealistic to expect the Glazers to produce. Indeed, if Aulas is to be believed, the only club who might be able to afford Benzema is Chelsea. Arsène Wenger is another confirmed admirer but Arsenal, like United, might struggle to generate the cash. As always, Real Madrid are lurking in the background.
If necessary, Ferguson could use Louis Saha in a possible player-plus-cash exchange but he is also aware that he has to strengthen his defence as a priority, particularly at right-back. Gary Neville has been out for almost a year with injury problems and Wes Brown could leave on a free transfer this summer after rejecting a new contract, a situation that Ferguson has told him is "ridiculous".
Brown has asked for more money and the conflict has strained the relationship with his manager. "I just cannot understand why he has not signed," said Ferguson, who questioned whether the defender had been badly advised.
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