Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest on Gareth Bale and Wilfried Bony Rumours

Wilfired Bony’s magnificent goalscoring exploits in 2014 have caught the eye of Real Madrid, who supposedly view the Ivory Coast international striker as an ideal replacement for Karim Benzema, according to reports in Spain (h/t Alex Harris of the Daily Star).

The Swansea City striker has taken the Premier League by storm since his move from Vitesse Arnhem, with a host of English football's top sides—including Liverpool and Manchester City, per the Harris piece—also supposedly keen on plundering a deal.

Harry Engels/Getty Images

The European champions will have also been encouraged in their supposed pursuit by quotes from Swansea's chairman Huw Jenkins, who insists that every player has a price, per Paul Gorst of the Mirror:

"

The one thing I’ve learned over time is never say never in football. But officially at the moment we haven’t had any contact from Manchester City or anyone else about Wilfried.

We are in the same position as any other club. Things are as they are. No one wants to lose players and if you are to lose players it has to be for the right offer.

"

As we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football, Bony has established himself as one of the top players in the Premier League:

It would be curious to see Real sell Benzema at Bony's expense, though. The Frenchman's work rate and mobility makes him a wonderful foil for the trailblazing exploits of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo; for all of Bony's desirable attributes, on the face of things it's difficult to see him being able to link up with Bale and Ronaldo quite as well as the club's current No. 9.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Here's how the two strikers compare in league matches so far this season:

	Benzema	Bony
Apps (Sub)	13	16 (4)
Goals	8	9
Assists	7	2
Shots per Game	2.2	3.3
Key Passes per Game	1.5	1
Dispossessed per Game	1.6	2

Bony is a player who possesses brute power and wonderful poise, making him one of the most well-rounded strikers in European football. As we can see from above statistics, he's clearly a player who knows where the back of the net is, too, and subsequently he'd be far from out of his depth at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

Jack Pitt-Brooke of the Independent spoke highly of Bony after his recent late equaliser for the Swans against Queens Park Rangers:

Indeed, if Madrid were to pursue him, you suspect it would be as a deputy to the understatedly excellent Benzema.

With that in mind—while the lure of Real is tough to turn down—the striker would surely much prefer a move to one of English football's top clubs, where first-team football will be much more accessible.

Madrid are renowned for wanting the brightest talents in world football, and subsequently, continuity is not something that's typically a critical part of the club's mantra. But with Benzema, Ronaldo and Bale all performing magnificently this season, perhaps those principles will change.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

It certainly looks as if the latter of that trio will be sticking around for a while yet, despite rumours to the contrary. Bale was linked with a money-spinning move to Manchester United during the back end of 2014, but he dismissed those rumours by insisting he's happy in the Spanish capital and now looks poised to sign a new deal, per Harris of the Daily Star.

Here's a look at why Los Blancos will be desperate to keep hold of Bale:

Despite a poll in AS (h/t Ben Nagle of the Mail Online) suggesting that most Madridistas would be happy to see the back of the Welshman, it's difficult to see exactly what more he could have done in his time at the club.

After all, winning goals in the Copa del Rey and Champions League final last season—against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid respectively, no less—should have earned him immortal status.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

But despite the hyperbole surrounding a potential bid from the Red Devils, it seems that sense has finally prevailed in this situation.

Bale is one of the finest young players in the game, has shown a taste for the biggest games and will continue to get even better. Why on earth would anyone associated with Madrid want to see him go anywhere else?