Rayan Cherki - The new Karim Benzema that Real Madrid are watching closely

The departure of Karim Benzema has become a serious problem for Real Madrid's sporting management.

Harry Kane has been ruled out, for the moment, due to Tottenham's high financial demands, who will not go below the 120 million that they have priced the England international's departure at. Kai Havertz, meanwhile, has tired of waiting for Real Madrid and is very close to signing for Arsenal. For Lautaro Martinez, Inter have also set a prohibitive price: 100 million. And the 'Mbappé soap opera' has only just begun.

As things stand, the Real Madrid technical secretariat is considering activating an option that Zinedine Zidane recommended back in the day, and that had been shelved as a future option. Olympique Lyon striker Rayan Cherki, who at just 18 years of age has already become a regular in Laurent Blanc's line-ups.

Cherki came to the fore on 19 August 2020, when he became the youngest player to appear in the semi-finals of the Champions League. He did so at the age of 17 years and two days, against Bayern, in that post-pandemic edition of the single-leg knockout tie. Cherki came on with 17 minutes to go, replacing Marçal.

The Lyon-born striker had made his debut months earlier under Rudi Garcia, still only 16 years old, in a group stage match against Zenit. And that same season he stunned French football with two goals and two assists against Nantes. It was his second cup game - his fourth with the first team - and in his first, against Bourg en Bresse, he became the youngest goalscorer in the club's history.

Cherki has now made 102 first-team appearances for Olympique Lyon, scoring 14 goals and providing 16 assists. Zidane recommended his signing, believing that his characteristics were very similar to those of Karim Benzema and that he could easily adapt to Real Madrid's game. Like Cherki, Benzema also came through the youth ranks at youth level at Lyon and also established himself in the first team at the age of 18.

The market price of the young French talent is 27 million, but his price could multiply considering PSG's interest in incorporating him into their new project. Interestingly, Cherki has just hired Kylian Mbappé's mother, Fayza Lamari, to become his agent.