Jovic and Benzema will form terrifying strike partnership at Real Madrid

Luka Jovic's arrival will not be the end of Karim Benzema as Zinedine Zidane gets ready to go 4-4-2 at Real Madrid next season.

With Real Madrid paying more for Jovic than they have ever paid for a centre-forward in the club's history it could be interpreted as the final curtain for Benzema as he prepares for his 11th season at the club.

But Zidane loves his compatriot. And Florentino Perez, who signed him 10 years ago from Lyon as a 21-year-old, still looks back at that particular deal as one of his best.

Last season was one of his most productive for Real Madrid. 'Everyone was below the best apart from Benzema,' said Perez in a radio interview last week.

With those two on his side and having scored 30 goals last season Benzema will survive the arrival of the 21-year-old Serbian international.

Nor is it the case that Madrid have spent £62million on someone who is only going to be on the bench. The club are not in a position to pay so much for substitutes.

The solution for Zidane, as he tries to keep Benzema but add a penalty box predator to the mix, will be the change of system that he hinted at towards the end of the last campaign.

The 4-3-3 that Madrid played almost without interruption since Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in 2009 no longer fits the strengths of the squad and will be replaced next season by a combination of 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2.

There will be times when Benzema or Jovic lead the line in Zidane's new look 4-2-3-1 but there will also be plenty of occasions when the two play together in the 4-4-2.

The option of Jovic and Benzema up front will mean Hazard coming off the left as opposed to playing in the hole behind the striker and Real Madrid see the incoming Belgian as more than capable of making that change.

Zidane wants to have a 4-4-2 option with Dani Carvajal at right-back and Ferland Mendy at left-back, and with Sergio Ramos partnering Raphael Varane in the centre.

Three midfielders would then complement Hazard who would start on the left but wonder infield allowing Mendy or even Marcelo to rampage up and down the left flank.

The other three midfielders accompanying Hazard would be Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

Although a bolder version of Zidane's 4-4-2 would see him pick a winger on the right and that would open the door to Lucas Vazquez or Marco Asensio, or even Gareth Bale if Real Madrid are unable to sell him in the coming weeks.

Zidane wants a more direct brand of football next season and he believes Jovic will help him make that happen. He also wants tactical flexibility and he is convinced that Jovic can also bring that to the table.

Madrid's options with Jovic, France international full-back Mendy and Hazard will be considerably better than the ones available to Real Madrid's new coach Julen Lopetegui at the start of last season.

Club president Perez will even feel that if he cannot bring Paul Pogba to the club – another of the demands made by Zidane when he took over – he has given his coach the tools to turn around the club's dismal form last season.

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