Potential January Transfer Destinations for Real Madrid's Karim Benzema

Could Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema be a potential January transfer target? If so, where will he go?

WHY BENZEMA MIGHT WANT TO LEAVE

Just when you start to lament Benzema for being anonymous, inefficient and not pulling his weight, he reminds everyone of his true worth: four goals and three assists in his last four La Liga games. 

Prior to a near flawless performance in a 7-3 win over Sevilla, when he had a brace of goals and assists, he went goalless in seven successive games, including El Clasico, for Real. 

Bad Benzema, brilliant Benzema. 

He is seemingly always subjected to excessive criticism just like his former teammate, Gonzalo Higuain.

"What angered him [Higuain] the most? When on the field he would hear whistles or comments that do not correspond with reality," said Higuain's father, Jorge, according to Football Italia. "He had no protection and not only with this president but with others."

"I was very happy in Madrid during some moments, but less happy in others," Higuain said, per Amy Lawrence at The Guardian. "You suffer when you don't get to play for some time, as you do when you have to share [opportunities] with Karim Benzema."

Real president Florentino Perez is building a team with a young Spanish-centric core: 21-year-old right-back Daniel Carvajal, 23-year-old central midfielder Asier Illarramendi, 21-year-old attacking midfielder Isco and 21-year-old striker Alvaro Morata.

The old dilemma used to be Benzema or Higuain. Now it will be Benzema or Morata.

RULING OUT THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Benzema might be thinking to himself, "I want to go somewhere where they really want me," which was the mindset of Higuain as he contemplated about life after Real, per Sid Lowe at The Guardian. 

This is why Benzema to Arsenal, per Jeremy Wilson at The Telegraph, seems out of the question as he would be vying with Olivier Giroud, who had five goals and four assists in 11 league games, for a starting place.

Chelsea, per Nick Lustig at The Daily Star, shouldn't be an option as 79.3 percent of Benzema's games under Jose Mourinho at Real were sub-affected. 

THREE CLUBS BENZEMA SHOULD CONSIDER 

1. Wolfsburg

Edin Dzeko, Grafite and Mario Mandzukic give you an idea of the type of high-quality strikers the club had in the past. 

Benzema could be taking advantage of through balls from playmaker Diego, who leads the club in key passes per game.

Should Diego be sold, the gifted 19-year-old Maximilian Arnold is ready to break out.

Ricardo Rodriguez, who completes 34.3 percent of his crosses from left-back (20-25 is standard), creates another avenue for Benzema to score. 

There are also dangerous players who can create something out of nothing like Daniel Caligiuri, Ivan Perisic and Vieirinha.

Wolfsburg, a club that won the 2008-09 Bundesliga, have assembled a team that is relevant, losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich and beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1. 

If Ivica Olic, the Croatian Dirk Kuyt, can score six goals leading the line, you'd expect Benzema to cash in.

2. Lazio

Father Time could be catching up to Miroslav Klose, 35, who has only scored twice in his last 10 league games. 

Yes, Lazio do have a raw 20-year-old Colombian in Brayan Perea, but a striker of Benzema's class will solve the Italian club's scoring issues—Verona and Torino have scored more goals than Lazio. 

3. Borussia Dortmund

The reason why Dortmund are third-choice instead of first is surely because Real have learnt their lesson from giving competitors a vital part which turns them into UEFA Champions League contenders. 

Real sold Wesley Sneijder to Inter Milan and Arjen Robben to Bayern Munich in 2009. 

Which clubs met in the 2010 Champions League final? Inter and Bayern. Inter won 2-0, and Sneijder registered an assist. 

With Robert Lewandowski set to leave Dortmund for Bayern Munich, Benzema, who can score and create like Lewandowski, would be a like-for-like swap. 

But "4-1" is why Perez won't sell Benzema to Dortmund.

From Benzema's perspective, it's the best option available to him if he wants to leave Real.  

Statistics via WhoScored, FFT Stats Zone, Squawka and Transfermarkt.
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