Harry Kane is Real Madrid's first choice to replace Karim Benzema if he opts to move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad, sources have told 90min.
Madrid have long been admirers of Kane, but they were not anticipating needing to replace Benzema until next summer as he had agreed terms to stay in the Spanish capital for another 12-months.
However, Benzema's deal has remained unsigned and now he is understood to be close to agreeing a two-year deal to join Saudi Arabia's Pro-League with Al-Ittihad.
Now Real's transfer team, led by Juni Calafat, are putting plans in place to replace Benzema and 90min has been told that Kane is their top target having already done plenty of background work on Tottenham's captain.
Tottenham's hierarchy have already made it clear that they were not looking to sell Kane this summer, despite the fact he has just one year left on his current deal.
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Kane is also Manchester United's first choice transfer target this summer, but Spurs CEO Daniel Levy is not keen to do business with any other Premier League. That fact could very well open the door to Madrid, however much will depend on Kane's own position on his future and, as yet, he has not pushed to leave the club this summer.
Should a move for Kane prove too difficult, as may be the case, they have other options in mind. One of these other options is Napoli's Victor Osimhen - another United target but also one who is very high on Chelsea's summer shopping list. They could also rekindle their interest in Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, although with Lionel Messi set to leave and Neymar's future up-in-the-air it may not be considered possible for a deal to be sanctioned.
Mbappe has also recently confirmed his desire to stay at PSG for at least one more season during the recent UNFP awards ceremony.
Real have asked Benzema to let them know the decision on his future this week and he is due to meet with Florentino Perez on Thursday, where he is expected to confirm that he is set to move to Saudi.
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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Alexis Mac Allister, Karim Benzema, William Saliba & more!
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This article was originally published on 90min as Harry Kane tops Real Madrid's list to replace Karim Benzema.