Benzema Latest Lured to Real Madrid?

This summer, as the European transfer season began at 12:01 AM ET on July 1, one thing is absolutely clear -- all roads lead to Real Madrid.

Fresh off the heels of completing the mega-money swoops for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, the Spanish giants appear to have added another high profile attacking talent in Lyon's French international Karim Benzema. Reports coming out Wednesday put the sides very close on a deal in the range of €35 million ($50 U.S.) that could be finalized before the day is over. (Update -- it appears the deal is complete.)

Whether or not taking a New York Yankees approach to team building -- namely signing star players for big bucks as opposed to developing young talent -- is going to be enough for Real Madrid to supplant Barcelona from the top of La Liga and make a dent in the Champions League remains to be seen. There are valid points on each side, though Real's last flirtation under Floretino Perez's "Galactico" plan didn't end very well.

The 21-year-old striker has scored 54 goals for Lyon in the last two seasons. His age would actually suggest his best is yet to come, so Benzema isn't exactly the type of overpriced veteran Real has inked in the past. (Madrid also grabbed Valencia's 23-year-old Spanish international defender Raul Albiol earlier in the week.)

At minimum Benzema brings some young legs to the Madrid front line that featured veterans Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy, until the Dutchman was lost to a season-ending injury. The possible Benzema signing does, however, make Real's January desperation signing of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for €20 seem like a bit of a waste. Suffice to say at least one of the Dutch strikers will be on the way out at the Bernabeu.

The bigger question in the current wintry economic climate, where most clubs are selling as opposed to buying, is where is Real finding a sum approaching $300 million on players? Real claims it sold its television rights for seven years in 2006 for over £1 billion ($1.65 U.S.) and other factors detailed in this report from the Times of London last month show how the club operates on a different playing field from just about everybody else, even the other elite clubs in the world like Manchester United and Liverpool.

And speaking of Manchester United, the Red Devils were heavily linked toward signing Benzema in light of losing Carlos Tevez. Looks like if this deal is completed, Sir Alex Ferguson will have to turn toward Plan B or C. At least the United's signing of Antonio Valencia from Wigan went down without a hitch.