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It's no secret that Liverpool have been struggling to put together a cohesive attack this season, and despite some woes in midfield, the main cause for those problems has been at striker. Daniel Sturridge can't stay healthy for more than a day, Mario Balotelli can't get in to form, Rickie Lambert isn't good enough any more, and Fabio Borini can't even get on the pitch.
That's left Liverpool struggling to find some kind of answer at the position. Raheem Sterling has recently been used as something of a false nine, scoring two goals in the League Cup on Wednesday after struggling to find the net (but finding plenty of chances) against Manchester United last weekend. Liverpool want a more permanently viable solution, though, and so the rumor mill has been churning through names to find the "right fit."
Today, they've landed on a very talented, and even more expensive, option: Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. The French international eternally seems to be linked with moves away from the Bernabeu as fans rarely seem happy with his performances despite him always playing very well. Benzema has scored 13 goals in 18 appearances for Real Madrid in La Liga and the Champions League, including a brace against Liverpool at Anfield, but apparently that's still not good enough because of some very good reasons that no one ever actually shares in a sensible way.
The going rate for Benzema this January is a gut-wrenching £50 million pounds. That's a massive figure for any player, but one that feels even bigger for a 27 year old striker with a lot of wear on his legs who probably doesn't have a lot of time left on the peak of his career. If Liverpool really want Benzema, though, that's probably about what they'd have to pay. Madrid aren't exactly in dire need to sell the Frenchman, so it would take a pretty big offer to even get them to pay attention, much less pull the trigger.
This is a rumor that feels very unlikely to go through, but at least there's some plausibility to it. Benzema is indeed a world-class striker, which is what fans think Liverpool has to get their hands on this winter. He's even a pretty decent fit if you look at how his skillset would mesh with the Liverpool squad. The price is believable, if eye-wateringly high. Of course, without participating in the Champions League knockout rounds, Liverpool probably can't afford that from a Financial Fair Play standpoint. So there's that. But otherwise, it's plausible, but simply doesn't seem like this is something that will actually happen.
