Karim Benzema Chelsea transfer decided as Todd Boehly given January instruction

Our football writers at football.london have delivered their verdicts on whether Todd Boehly and Chelsea should sanction a January transfer move for Karim Benzema as his Al-Ittihad future is up in the air

Karim Benzema is going to dominate the headlines until a decision is made over his future at Al-Ittihad. Joining the Saudi Arabian side at the beginning of June, the 36-year-old has found the net on a regular basis for his new team but is reported to be unhappy in Saudi Arabia.

That in turn has alerted clubs to the possibility of signing him in the January transfer window, with both Arsenal and Chelsea linked with a move for the Frenchman. Both teams are desperate for more firepower in attack and Benzema would certainly give them that if he can adapt to life in England and replicate the form he displayed at Real Madrid on a weekly basis.

However, a deal for the former Lyon man would cost a considerable amount of money given the mega wages he is currently on at Al-Ittihad. So would a temporary move make sense for Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea in what remains of the season?

We asked our football writers at football.london to have their say on whether Todd Boehly should sanction a move for Benzema as the Blues look to put their consistency woes behind them and give Chelsea fans something to cheer between now and May.

Lee Wilmot - Head of Football

Karim Benzema to Chelsea, does it make sense? There are arguments for and against.

Chelsea are in desperate need of someone other than Cole Palmer who can put the ball in the back of the net. Their over-reliance on the former Manchester City man is stark.

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With a naturally gifted frontman in the side, Palmer can see the weight of expectation on his shoulders ease. We all saw what happened against Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup, Palmer cannot deliver every single week, he's a young lad and has flaws.

Benzema to Chelsea on a short-term deal will cost a fortune, but it could solve Mauricio Pochettino's biggest problem at least until the end of the season. But what happens beyond that, and what real need is there for Benzema to come and be the saviour for half a season? What would he really save? Chelsea are nowhere near finishing in the Champions League places and you would like to think they can get to the Carabao Cup final without him.

The money involved, for such a short deal, doesn't really add up. Chelsea would be better off going with what they have and preparing for next season instead of trying to fix their problems for little reward this year.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Chelsea are absolutely desperate for some firepower up front as they look to get some consistency in their game and finish the season strongly. Karim Benzema would undoubtedly bring Mauricio Pochettino's side the goals they require if they were to inherit the version of the striker who scored for fun at Real Madrid.

Benzema, at the age of 36, is now entering the final few years of his glittering career, though, and there are no guarantees that he would make an immediate impact in the Premier League. After all, Chelsea signed 31-year-old Gonzalo Higuain five years ago and his time at the club didn't go as many envisaged going on his previous exploits in Spain and Italy.

The striker is on huge wages at Al-Ittihad and it would cost a eye-watering amount of money for Chelsea to finance any deal until the end of the current season. Given the sums involved and the fact the Blues are extremely unlikely to secure a Champions League place given their form and current position in the table, is the deal even worth it?

It's certainly not a move that fits the profile of player Chelsea have targeted in the past couple of transfer windows. The money that would be put towards Benzema's wages can instead be saved and put to bringing in a new long-term option in the summer once the club have decided on their man.

In the mean time, keep faith with Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson and give them the opportunity to prove that they can play a big part for the club going forward.

Sam Truelove - Content editor

Karim Benzema's quality is undisputed. He is the most decorated player in Real Madrid's history, along with former teammate Marcelo, and is second on the list of Madrid's all time top scorers. But at the age of 36, is Benzema the right fit at Chelsea?

Of course, the Frenchman is a lethal goalscorer and could perhaps teach Chelsea's young strikers a thing or two. But the signing would go against Todd Boehly's transfer model of signing exciting young talent for the future.

Then you have his astronomical wages. According to Marca, he is being paid €100million (£85million) per season, plus a bonus of €20million (£17million) to work as an ambassador for the 2030 World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is bidding to host. You would expect Chelsea to have to cover part of these wages if he were to move to Stamford Bridge, and with the club wary of profit and sustainability rules, a deal perhaps makes little sense.

If I was Mauricio Pochettino, I would ignore the temptation of signing Benzema and spend the money elsewhere. Ivan Toney could be available in the summer after all...

Joe Doyle - Content editor

Signing Karim Benzema would immediately solve a few issues Chelsea are facing. He brings goals, an elite mentality and a weight of experience that the current squad do not possess. He adds a level of quality that Mauricio Pochettino does not currently have up front, a truly world class striker.

It almost seems churlish, but I'm going to gloss over the benefits that he would bring to the squad, because really that's not the biggest question over any move. Yes, he's an exceptional player, but how often have we seen fantastic players fail to adapt to new surroundings straight away? Players can often take years to show their best at new clubs; would Benzema be able to hit the ground running in such a short spell?

There's also the bigger issue looming over any move: the wages. Whatever you say about Chelsea's recruitment over the last two years, there's no denying that they seem to have played the system well. They've made deals that have even lead to changes in the rules over contract lengths.

Would they have enough wiggle room to bring in a player on wages of up to £40million over a six month spell? It seems unlikely, though not impossible. Certainly if they sold another academy player it would free up funds. Would he be able to fire them into a European place (and thus more money next season)? Possibly. Possibly not.

For me, if Chelsea can afford to get a deal done, it's one they should definitely do before moving on to seal something more permanent in the summer.

Tom Coley - Audience writer

Chelsea don't seem to learn with January transfers....Or do they? Karim Benzema is pretty closely comparable to Gonzalo Higuain, who joined in 2019 during the dawn of his career having hit some very high highs at Juventus not long before. He arrived at Stamford Bridge with cautious optimism but never sparkled, not even once. In truth he hardly even threatened too.

Why should Benzema be much different? He has spent the last six months playing in Saudi Arabia, playing against and training with players that would be ran in circles by the Chelsea academy sides. His form in La Liga last season was impressive, nothing to turn a nose up to, but in 24 games - he managed to play in under 70 per cent of matches - he scored in 12.

That's more than Chelsea's current options but what sort of impact might he have on this young squad? There's an unknown element here. The attraction to Benzema is obvious but in the final six months of his Real Madrid career he played 14 matches, scored in five - albeit with two hat-tricks and a brace - missing seven through injury.

If Chelsea are to go big on his wages - even a quarter of his current salary would surely make him the top earner at the club - then it's a risk. For what reward? Benzema can't fire Chelsea to the Champions League. He might be the difference between eighth and sixth, is that worth it? Or is the smarter thing to spend this half of the season evaluating what the club actually have in Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson.

Sell Broja and Benzema is actually a near must but keeping the Albanian and still splashing out is senseless. Signing Benzema is and should be a dream for Chelsea but short-term loans are so pointless. He won't be Zola, he won't be Silva. He's more likely to be Joao Felix or Higuain and nobody needs that.

On paper he's the perfect short-term option, sure, but Chelsea don't really need that right now.

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