Barcelona Maintain Benzema Interest

With Ronaldinho set to leave the club and Samuel Eto'o's future uncertain, there is apparently now room for a new centre-forward at Camp Nou.

Enter Karim Benzema, the Lyon striker. The 20-year-old is enjoying a banner season in Ligue 1, having hit 19 goals in 34 league games so far, as well as 4 in 7 Champions League appearances.

Should Barcelona sell Eto'o then they are prepared to make a move for the young forward. The Cameroonian's departure would both open up a space in the first team squad and, more importantly, free up some much-needed cash for the transfer.

It was reported this week that Barça will only buy big if they sell big, and with Benzema being valued by Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas at €50m, surely a major player must depart before he can be landed.

Of course, any potential transfer is unlikely to reach a figure of €50m, with negotiations set to be ongoing for some time.

This is assuming that Lyon are willing to discuss a move at all, and that Benzema is okay with moving on. He has previously stated that, although he is eager to switch to a major European side in future, he's happy at the Stade Gerland and is willing to spend another season there in order to hone his skills.

Having carved out a niche for himself as an undisputable star with Les Gones, he is also said to be unwilling to revert to being a squad player, which he may well be in his early days in Spain.


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