Amine Gouiri is reportedly keen on joining Real Madrid, thus handing the reigning La Liga champions a boost in the pursuit of the 22-year-old French striker.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Defensa Central, Amine Gouiri wants to join Real Madrid when the opportunity presents itself. But the 22-year-old OGC Nice striker might move to Stade Rennais to play at a higher level in the 2022/23 season before the reigning La Liga champions approach him for a transfer.
Amine Gouiri has established himself as one of the most promising young strikers in Ligue 1 since joining OGC Nice from Lyon nearly two years ago. The French attacker has become a pivotal figure for Les Aiglons, excelling as the leader of the club’s offensive unit in the last couple of seasons.
But the 22-year-old striker has started the 2022/23 season slowly as he is yet to find the back of the net after five appearances for Nice thus far. But Gouiri’s progress has not gone unnoticed, with several European bigwigs, including Real Madrid, setting their sights on him.
The interest from Real Madrid stems from the advancing years of Karim Benzema, with the veteran French striker well into his thirties. And even though Benzema is in the form of his life and the favourite to win the coveted Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career, he will soon enter the twilight of his illustrious professional sphere.
The reigning La Liga champions are thus trying to identify the ideal long-term successor for Benzema. And while Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe had popped up on Real Madrid’s radar as the ideal candidates to fill Benzema’s shoes in the years to come, both players preferred to play for other clubs in the 2022/23 season.
Gouiri has thus emerged as a viable target for Real Madrid, who recently submitted an enquiry to Nice for the 22-year-old. But the French striker will take an intermediary step before possibly joining Real Madrid amid interest from Stade Rennais. But for now, he has handed Los Blancos a boost in his pursuit as he wants to join them in the future.
As for the 2022/23 season, the young striker is enticed by the idea of playing in the UEFA Europa League, which will not be possible at OGC Nice. So Gouiri might join Rennes before the summer transfer window shuts down before setting his sights on completing a dream move to Real Madrid as Benzema’s long-term successor.