When you lose a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, there are few players that are able to replace them, if any at all. Ronaldo has moved on to a new challenge at Juventus and Real Madrid still appear to be working on finding a solution to the problem. Big names have been linked – Eden Hazard, even Neymar and now Edinson Cavani is the latest player to be linked with a move to Real Madrid.
The biggest problem is that there is nobody quite like Cristiano Ronaldo, the 5 times Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League all-time leading goalscorer is totally unique. So perhaps a few different additions to the Real Madrid squad will be required rather than one direct replacement.
Cavani scored 38 goals in all competitions last season
Edinson Cavani is a proven goalscorer who has thrived at PSG. However, the French league is not deemed to be a particularly challenging one compared to La Liga or the Premier League. Cavani managed 38 goals in all competition last season but could he replicate those kinds of stats in a more difficult league?
It is thought that Cavani would be very interested in a move to Real Madrid, particularly as there are rumours of a clash with Neymar. The debate around penalty-taking responsibilities last year highlighted a striking partnership that is more focused on individuals than than the team. Neymar made the move from Barcelona to PSG because he was tired of living in Messi’s shadow – he wants to be the main man and Cavani is so adored by the PSG fans that he takes the limelight away from Neymar.
Hazard still Real Madrid’s top target
So a move to Real Madrid could suit both parties but we would expect Real Madrid to go in hard for Eden Hazard first of all, as he seems to be their top target. You would have thought Real Madrid had their replacement all lined up well before news broke about Ronaldo’s transfer, so we might see they have had a master plan all along. The transfer market has been moving slower than usual due to the World Cup but there will be lots of signings happening all over Europe in the next few weeks before the new season starts.
