Thirdly, the status of the players in terms of there reputations and performance following last season must be taken into account. Benzema is a French national team regular, the undisputed forward star of his former team, and he was wanted by just about anyone who could afford him.
Wherever he is, he will be expecting to be the number choice even through a rough patch. He'll possibly want to lead the frontline like he did at Lyon and also seal his spot for France's World Cup squad.
If he were at United, it could virtually be a Carlos Tevez situation all over again, a player not getting the amount of action he wants. Owen on the other hand, has been out of his national side for some time and was practically an outcast of Europe's elite teams. While he'll want to be named for the Three Lions for WC2010, he's happy enough to be on a side as good as United and we'll relish the role of Tevez.
He isn't expected to be a first team regular, as Ferguson has surely told him. And given his past couple of years and the other places he could have ended up, he'll be willing to fit in as a role player.
So, head-to-head, most definitely just about everyone on this planet would take Benzema over Owen, but given the circumstances, United fans at least could soon be thinking it the other way around. Only time will tell the value of a signing such as this. He's been given the opportunity, the ball is now in Owen's court
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