Report: Real Madrid Prefer Eden Hazard, Robert Lewandowski over Mohamed Salah

Real Madrid will prioritise moves for Chelsea winger Eden Hazard and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski ahead of Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah. 

So said Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Guillem Balague (h/t Liverpool Echo's Kristian Walsh), who not only reported Hazard and Lewandowski are higher on Real's shopping list but that both players are also "desperate to come":

"Salah is a difficult one because Real Madrid have no mention of him as a candidate to be a Galactico.

"You can think there is a market in Egypt and he is a star of the Premier League—he has a lot of things to go for him—but if they get Hazard they won't need Salah.

"It seems like they wouldn't put that much money into Salah. The summer is so long and anything can happen.

"Hazard is desperate to come and [Robert] Lewandowski is desperate to come."

News of Los Blancos' alleged lack of interest in Salah will be music to the ears of Liverpool fans, who will be itching to hold together their mercurial front three. Fan account Empire of the Kop recently hailed the efforts of leading scorer Salah alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino:

But while Liverpool's attack has been at its best, Real have at times been poor compared to recent campaigns, particularly in the first half of the term, when Cristiano Ronaldo experienced a domestic goal drought. 

But the Portugal international hasn't been alone in his scoring struggles. Karim Benzema, 30, has twice the amount of assists (eight) as he does goals (four) in La Liga this season, and broadcaster Deji Faremi remarked upon the Frenchman's recent inability to put the ball in the back of the net:

The Spanish side will have one eye on the future of their forward line in any case, with Ronaldo, 33, edging closer to his twilight years and Gareth Bale, 28, seemingly not favoured by manager Zinedine Zidane.

Hazard has long been touted as a potential heir to Ronaldo on the left flank, while Bayern talisman Lewandowksi—widely considered one of the best strikers in the world—would be seen as a Benzema successor.

Despite Salah's rise to fame at Anfield this season—having impressed during a two-year tenure with AS Roma prior to that—it's worth noting the Egyptian has yet to put together a string of seasons at this level.

Lewandowski was a hit with Borussia Dortmund prior to joining Bayern in 2014, and the Poland international has scored 25 goals or more in the last seven successive seasons, netting a combined 85 times in the two terms prior to 2017-18.

Hazard was a starlet at Lille long before he joined Chelsea in 2012 and has helped the Blues win two Premier League titles during his time there.

Salah, 25, may need to showcase more of this season-defining class before he can be thought of as a Galactico, although Liverpool won't mind that he's not considered to be one just yet.