Although Real Madrid lost Karim Benzema in the summer 2023 transfer window – one year earlier than they expected – the Merengue club elected against opening up their pocketbooks to sign an elite striker option to replace the Frenchman.
Instead, Los Blancos acquired LaLiga veteran Joselu on loan from Espanyol following their relegation, deciding to use new midfield signing Jude Bellingham in an attacking role behind a two-forward setup of Rodrygo Goes and Vinícius Júnior.
So far, it’s actually been defensive issues holding back Madrid rather than attacking woes, even if the presence of a true anchor point at the 9 is missing.
It would make sense for Real Madrid to show interest in a 9 this coming summer if the right opportunity did pop up, as incoming signing Endrick is still only 18.
So here are five possible striker targets for Los Blancos in 2024 and beyond.
Erling Haaland, Manchester City
It’s honestly difficult to envision Erling Haaland leaving Manchester City any time soon. The defending Champions League winners broke the duck after acquiring Haaland, which is no coincidence.
Haaland had a record-breaking Premier League season for the Citizens as a goal-scorer, proving decisive in the club maintaining their status as league champions despite a recent challenge from Arsenal.
Real Madrid could have signed Haaland over City in 2022, but because they were so fixated on signing Kylian Mbappé, they missed their chance to acquire Haaland from Dortmund for much less.
Haaland won’t be regretting his decision any time soon, but he’s always shown interest in Madrid. Plus, his old BVB pal Bellingham is crushing it in the Spanish capital.
Haaland to Madrid feels like a serious option in a future transfer window, but perhaps after 2024.
Lautaro Martínez, Inter Milan
Right now, Lautaro Martínez is a legitimate Ballon d’Or candidate. After a brief slump in the middle of the 2022/23 Serie A season, Lautaro woke up and exploded, leading the team by example with the best all-around play we have seen from him in his career.
Once linked to Real Madrid during the 2019/20 season when he first broke out for Inter Milan, the Argentinian striker is so much better now than he was four years ago.
Lautaro has Inter in the driver’s seat of the Scudetto race this season, having already helped Inter win the Coppa Italia and reach the Champions League Final last season.
Lautaro means everything to Inter, so it is also difficult to envision him leaving soon. In the future, though, he may want a new challenge. The 26-year-old should be in the prime of his career for the next five years, so he can be on the Real Madrid radar in the near future.
Victor Osimhen, Napoli
One of the best strikers in world football, Victor Osimhen was also on the list of possible Real Madrid striker targets during the 2019/20 season when he played for Lille and was just starting to break out. At that time, however, it made more sense for Osimhen to take a smaller step up to Napoli in Serie A.
His move to Naples certainly paid dividends for both club and player. Osimhen is now one of the most valuable footballers on the planet and should go for 100 million euros at the next transfer market. Clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, and PSG will be desperate to add a goal-scorer of his quality.
Real Madrid didn’t push hard to sign him last summer, because Napoli wanted an unrealistic price of 150 million euros. Basically, they did not want to sell. Even PSG wouldn’t pay that much. However, since Osimhen and Napoli may have some friction because of continued front office issues, the Nigerian could be available in 2024.
If Madrid decide they want a star striker now, they could go for Osimhen if the price is right. It is more likely Real will wait, but Osimhen has the qualities in the box and off the ball to fit Madrid as a pure scorer.
Kylian Mbappé, PSG
The never-ending Kylian Mbappé transfer saga continues to annoy many Real Madrid fans, especially those who have already written off the PSG superstar after his initial rejection of the club in 2022. Los Blancos won the Champions League and even eliminated PSG, yet Mbappé decided to stay in Paris for the money and power.
None of that has worked out for him thus far, and while Mbappé is racking up the goals, his all-around play still isn’t convincing everyone that he is the best in the world – nor do PSG look like legitimate Champions League title contenders.
Real Madrid remains the best destination for Mbappé to grow his stock in world football and become a true legend. Most fans don’t even take him seriously at PSG.
However, it’s possible the Madrid ship has sailed, regardless of how obsessed Florentino Pérez is in him. As time goes on, the possibility of a club in the Premier League swaying Mbappé starts to seem more intriguing.
Loïs Openda, RB Leipzig
For a less obvious name rising up the ranks in European football, look at RB Leipzig’s Loïs Openda. Leipzig tend to produce a high volume of strikers, but Openda was actually a star for Lens in Ligue 1 last season, scoring 21 goals. Lens almost won the title over PSG, by the way. The year before that, he scored 19 goals for Vitesse.
So Openda may only be 23 years old and not a well-known name, but he does have an established track record of scoring goals in Europe. He’s off to his best season yet in the Bundesliga, finding the back of the net 9 times with 3 assists in 12 starts for Leipzig. Openda is overshadowed by Harry Kane, Victor Boniface, and Serhou Guirassy, but he’s been very consistent.
If Real Madrid want a young striker to get minutes, they could decide to sign Openda. The problem is that he’s not a be-all, end-all superstar like the others, Leipzig don’t sell strikers like Openda for cheap, and Real won’t want someone to take minutes from Endrick. Unless if they see a good opportunity with a megastar, they might stick with Joselu and Endrick.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.