Spanish papers say 'Real Madrid have reserved No 9 shirt for Kane'
‘Real Madrid reserve their No 9 shirt for Harry Kane’: Spanish newspapers react to plans for a £100m bid to sign Tottenham’s star striker ahead of Man United – and Karim Benzema’s number is being kept for him
- Real Madrid are preparing a £100m bid for Tottenham and England striker Kane
- They will rival Man United for the prolific forward’s signature this summer
- With Karim Benzema leaving, the Spanish papers says the No 9 shirt is Kane’s
Real Madrid ‘will reserve their No 9 shirt for Harry Kane’ as they prepare a £100million offer for the prolific Tottenham Hotspur and England striker.
With Karim Benzema departing the Bernabeu to play in Saudi Arabia, the Spanish press have wasted no time in pointing out that Kane is a ready-made replacement.
The emergence of Real’s interest in Kane, 29, comes as a major blow to Manchester United, who also want to sign a centre forward who scored 30 Premier League goals in an underachieving Spurs team this season.
While the front covers of the Madrid sports dailies chose to focus on Benzema’s emotional farewell in the 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night, there is plenty of coverage inside.
Marca report that Real have no doubt Kane is their No 1 choice to replace Benzema, with the No 9 shirt now vacant. Kane wears No 10 at Tottenham but Luka Modric has that shirt for Real.
Real Madrid’s interest in £100m Tottenham and England striker Kane emerged on Sunday
It came as Bernabeu legend Karim Benzema departed Real Madrid after 14 seasons with them
The front cover of Marca on Monday focused on Benzema’s farewell with a brief mention of Real’s interest in Kane (bottom left) – but there was plenty of coverage inside
Although only confirmed on Sunday, Real had been aware of Benzema’s intentions to move on after 14 years for several days and had already started work on identifying replacements.
The report said Kane’s name had been on the lips of the Real executive as they held meetings at the Valdebebas training complex in recent days.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti and the hierarchy admire Kane and they believe they’ll get three or four seasons of top class performances from him.
Real also believe they have leverage with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who doesn’t want to sell Kane to a Premier League rival like United.
The reigning European champions have made first contract with both Spurs and Kane’s representatives, but negotiations with Levy may not be straightforward.
Real know from the experience of buying Gareth Bale and Modric from Spurs that Levy is a formidable negotiator who will haggle the best possible price.
Diario AS quote the opinions of leading Spanish journalists on Cadena SER regarding Real’s pursuit of Kane.
Marcos Lopez said Madrid ‘is obliged to go for a great striker.’ With Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland out of their reach at the moment, Kane is the best option available.
AS also featured the Benzema farewell, which has left the No 9 shirt vacant, maybe for Kane
Spurs are expected to demand £100million for their top goalscorer amid Los Blancos interest
Bruno Alemany said: ‘You can’t look for a Benzema clone, they can’t even claim a player who gives them the level that Benzema has given them over the years.
‘Now Real Madrid have to decide if they want the closest thing on the market, which is surely Kane, who offers them a very high number of goals each season.
‘A couple of years ago, Tottenham rejected €150m from Manchester City, but they were different situations because they were a team in the same league.
‘Tottenham is not going to let their great star and captain leave for a bargain price.’
The second player on Real Madrid’s shortlist to replace Benzema is Chelsea star Kai Havertz.
Benzema’s departure has blown a hole in Real Madrid’s plans for the 2023-24 campaign.
The club had hoped to sign Spain striker Joselu on loan as a deputy for Benzema who had been expected to activate an automatic one-year renewal of his contract.
Tottenham will lose Kane for nothing next year if they do not sell him in the next two transfer windows.
Chelsea forward Kai Havertz would be a potential alternative option to the Spurs striker
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t want to sell Kane to a direct Premier League rival
It remains to be seen whether Kane would give serious consideration to leaving England for Spain.
The prolific forward has set his sights on breaking Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League goalscoring record of 260. He is currently on 213 top-flight goals.
Similarly, Kane and his family are known to be settled in London and uprooting to Madrid would require deep thought, particularly with wife Katie expecting their fourth child.
But the lure of playing for one of the most prestigious clubs in the world – plus a virtual guarantee of challenging for major trophies could tempt Kane into relinquishing his dream of becoming the Premier League’s greatest goalscorer.
He would also likely be offered a pay deal north of his current £300,000-per-week wage at Tottenham.
Real’s interest in Kane comes as a blow to Erik ten Hag as he looks to upgrade his Manchester United squad ahead of next season
Real Madrid and have struck a good working relationship with Tottenham and Levy in recent years.
Benzema’s departure was announced ahead of the club’s last game of the season. He is now set to join Al Ittihad in a deal worth 100m euros a season tax free with add-ons for promoting the country’s 2030 World Cup bid.
Al Ittihad’s rivals Al-Hilal hope to announce the arrival of Lionel Messi this week with the offer 200m euros a season for two campaigns and the option of a third.
Benzema won 25 trophies at Real Madrid in 14 seasons and leaves just a year after a Ballon d’Or Champions League double.
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