Reports suggest Karim Benzema may not want to spend his short career in Saudi Arabia. Although he is 36 years old, he would be a perfect January transfer for a Premier League team. There’s no smoke without fire, and there have been a lot of rumors surrounding Karim Benzema in the past few weeks, with the French striker said to be unhappy with Al-Ittihad and looking to leave.

Many people seem unconcerned about the impact Benzema could have at a Premier League club, firstly due to his age, and secondly because he is believed to lack the ability to perform at the ‘top’ throughout. 7 months at Saudi Pro. But certainly the qualities of the French player are still there.

Although it pales in comparison to his 44 goals for Real Madrid in the 2021-22 season when they won La Liga and the Champions League, as well as taking Benzema to the 2022 Ballon d’Or, the 2022-23 season has also seen Benzema scored 31 goals for the Spanish giants – his second-best tally in a season at the club. That means age is not an issue.

After 14 seasons at the Santiago Bernabéu and with nothing left to prove, Benzema received a lucrative offer from Al-Ittihad and he decided it was time to leave. He left Real Madrid with 354 goals and 142 assists (a total of 496 goal involvements), not to mention five Champions League titles, four La Liga titles and three Copa del Rey titles. . It took him very little time to find his form in the Saudi Pro League. With 14 goals in 15 appearances (9 goals, 5 assists), he topped the table of these indicators at Al-Ittihad.

It is true that Benzema’s achievements have been overshadowed by those of Cristiano Ronaldo, as the Portuguese superstar has scored 20 goals and added 9 assists, but unlike the French striker, Ronaldo has had Time to adapt to Saudi football and culture in general. In addition, Benzema’s teammates at Al-Ittihad could not find a connection with him. One of Benzema’s greatest strengths is his ability to link play and take on a coordinator role to help younger, more agile players develop. We saw this in his final seasons at Madrid, when he used his ability to assist Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo develop into top-class strikers.

The question now is which club is suitable for Benzema to return to Europe?

Outside of the Premier League, Benzema’s first team, Ligue 1 side Lyon, are said to have tried to lure their former star back to France. Benzema has scored 66 goals in five professional seasons at his hometown club and Lyon definitely needs a boost to fight off the risk of relegation this season. With 16 points after 18 matches, they are ranked third from bottom.

However, that is not as feasible as having at least 3 clubs in the Premier League activating the loan option of this striker.

The best prospect is to join Arsenal, where Benzema’s ability could be perfect to lift Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to new heights. With this season’s Premier League title race so tight, Benzema could make a difference for Mikel Arteta, who is desperate for a centre-forward.

Chelsea have the youngest average age in the Premier League this season (24 years, 297 days), so adding some experience could help them recover in the second half of the season and secure that all-important European spot. important. Rookie striker Nicolas Jackson has had a good start to life at Stamford Bridge with 7 goals in the Premier League, but his conversion ability is quite poor. Besides Jackson, Chelsea’s other strikers are Christopher Nkunku, who recently returned from a long-term injury, and Armando Broja, who has scored just once in 453 minutes in the league this season.

Finally, there’s Manchester United. They have had a poor season in front of goal, with only three teams (Crystal Palace, Burnley and Sheffield United) scoring fewer than their 24 goals. Only four of those have come from Marcus Rashford, while summer signing Rasmus Højlund is still a work in progress and has only scored two goals in the Premier League. Anthony Martial has hardly been mentioned as an option for Erik ten Hag, and is still out for another 10 weeks after surgery, so signing Benzema would be a big improvement over the current situation. at Man United.

Signing experienced strikers is also a favorable path for Man United and it often brings positive results in the short term. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was 35 years old when he made his Premier League debut in October 2016 after moving from Paris Saint-Germain. His 28 goals in all competitions in the 2016-17 season were truly impressive. Of course, Ronaldo’s return in 2021-22 is another example. He was 36 years old when he rejoined the club and finished the campaign as their top scorer. Benzema is probably a short-term contract worthy of Man United’s attention.