Forward thinking: Who is the best candidate for Real Madrid’s striker role?

After Sergio Aguero renewed his contract with Manchester City and Radamel Falcao reached an agreement to move to Monaco, there are very few options left for Real Madrid to sign a star striker in the transfer window. In this article I will try to analyse which of the forwards across world football are most likely to arrive at the Bernabeu and how they would fit into the team.

• Edison Cavani (25 years old). The Napoli striker shares many characteristics with Karim Benzema, playing wise. He is a born striker who can move to the wings; a forward who can hold the ball and find the back of the net easily. The qualities he could add to Real’s forward line are his passion and fighting spirit, what would surely make him earn the fans support early on. However, his price -63 million euros- is too high, especially taking in account the fact that Florentino Perez wants Gareth Bale’s transfer to be his only big investment. Cavani has scored 104 times in 138 games for Napoli.
• Luis Suarez (26). The Uruguayan is a great forward who has fire within him. His electric game style and his ability to dribble make almost unstoppable. Plus, his powerful shot with both feet makes him a top scorer. In fact, he has scored 30 goals in 44 games for Liverpool this season. Valued in 40 million euros, he is a terrific player, there is no doubt about it. But he is not the adequate player for a club whose history is based on nobility and dignity. He is always creating controversy –his racist comments, his bite on Ivanovic… – and would bring trouble to a squad which is already difficult to manage.
• Carlos Tevez (29). The Argentinean is a wonderfully gifted player, in a way similar to Suarez: with fantastic dribbling skills, but not so accurate when shooting on target –he has scored 17 goals in 38 appearances for Manchester City this season. Either playing as striker or in a second attack line, he makes opposite defenders suffer in every game. Tevez is also a born fighter with a great physical condition. However, like Suarez, he is frequently at the centre of controversies. The fact that he is already 29 years old and earns a ten million euro salary put him miles away of Real Madrid’s expectations.
• Robert Lewandowski (24). The Pole could be the perfect fit for a squad that has been lacking a big man who wins many aerial duels. Not since Ruud Van Nistelrooy have Los Blancos had a scorer with that kind of presence –a goal poacher inside the penalty box. Florentino has tried to convince Borussia Dortmund’s striker to sign, but latest rumours claim that he is closer to move to Bayern Munich or Chelsea. The Polish international has scored 54 goals in 98 appearances for Dortmund. His market price would be around just 30 million euros giving that his contract expires next season.

Taking in account his age, price and style of play, I think Lewandowski would be the perfect fit for Los Blancos’s new project. He would make a perfect pair with Cristiano Ronaldo, and he could also work well in a trio with the Portuguese and Benzema depending on the game situations. It’s a pity that Bayern Munich and Chelsea have taken the advantage to sign him. Like Raphael Varane, Lewandowski could be the future of Real Madrid.