Harry Kane is 'top priority for Real Madrid' - Semra Hunter talks potential replacements for Benzema

It was a thrilling final round of fixtures in La Liga and to talk all things Spanish football, we can cross live now to Simre Hunter. Simre, great to see you this morning. Thank you so much for joining us and plenty to dive into. So let's start with Karim Benzema, shall we? He's announced his departure from Real Madrid. Was that a bit of a shock announcement? It was and it happened incredibly fast. The news started to break about three, four days ago from Spanish media saying that he had this huge offer from a club in Saudi Arabia that would be worth about 200 million, I think, per season. So 400 million in total across the two years, that he would also be offered as part of that contract, an ambassador role for the country as they bid for the 2030 World Cup. And so the news really just went wild. It spread like wildfire very quickly over here because it kind of came out of nowhere. He had in his contract at Real Madrid a clause that was called the Ballon d'Or clause. If he were to win it, he would automatically get a year extended on his contract. So there was this verbal agreement about a month ago between Benzema and Real Madrid that he was going to be staying. Everyone thought that was the case. But then this kind of came out of left field. And when he was directly asked about it, he said, no, I'm staying at Real Madrid. And the reality is not what's being said on the internet, only for about a day or two later to make another U-turn and actually officially announced that he was leaving. So I think it's caught everyone by surprise, even Carlo Ancelotti, even Real Madrid. And so, you know, you can't really fault him if this is what he feels as though is the right choice for him. He's been at Real Madrid for 14 years. His body started to fail him. He didn't have a great season, even though he still scored 30 goals, which is a great register. He had lots of injuries and missed a lot of games. So he might feel as though this might be the right time for him to move on. And so he's decided to leave. Real Madrid need a replacement. And we're hearing Harry Kane as well. He's been heavily linked with that move to replace Benzema. How likely is that to happen? What are they saying out in Spain? Well, not just one number nine they're going to need. They're going to need quite a few attackers because it's not just Benzema who is left. Eden Hazard has left. Mariano has left. And so has Asensio. So 42 goals in total between Benzema and Asensio. But yes, Harry Kane is the number one priority here in Spain. I think when Carlo Ancelotti was asked the other day, his reaction pretty much said it all. He looked like a kid in the candy store at the prospect of Harry Kane coming here. He would love to have him. He's a phenomenal player. They need a ready-made goal score, which is a bit of a deviation from their plan in general as to how they've been buying up young talent and developing them. That could be the case for several of the other forward spots that still need to be filled. But for a number nine, I think they definitely want to go with someone like Harry Kane. He's the perfect profile. Whether it's likely or not, there's a lot of contradicting information on reports as to whether Harry Kane even wants to leave the Premier League. And obviously, we know that Daniel Levy is a very tough negotiator. We saw that with Gareth Bale, with Luka Modric, whenever he joined Real Madrid back in the day, when they joined Real Madrid back in the day. But the thing is, with Kane running out of contracts in 2024, a year from now, maybe strategically, this is the time to let it happen if he does want to leave, if he does want a new adventure. Real Madrid would be very happy to have him. I think it would be a case of negotiating a price that everybody is happy with. But because Madrid do have money in the coffers, they could reach a high fee, which is something that could make everybody pleased. Summer, there are also reports that Madrid want to sign Kai Havertz. What are the chances, do you think, of that actually happening? Well, according to Spanish media, that is much more likely to happen as of right now than Harry Kane. News has come out of built in Germany, saying that it's imminent, that it's about to happen. Whether that's true or not, we're still not quite sure yet. We're still trying to figure that out. But the Spanish media believe as though he might be one of the first options to be coming to Real Madrid. We have to remember that they were really interested in Kai Havertz about three years ago when he was still at Bar Leverkusen. And actually, the only reason the interest cooled was because it coincided with Covid. Real Madrid decided to rein in their spending and they decided not to splash the cash. They were taking a little bit too much time, I think. The deal came through for Chelsea and he decided to go there instead. So they've always had interest in him. And now just might be the right time, considering that there are so many vacancies. He's obviously not a pure nine. He can play between the nines. He can play off of a nine. It could be a suitable option for Real Madrid. And his goal count, maybe it's not as good as you would expect. It was obviously a disappointing season overall for Chelsea in general, especially in the goal scoring department. I think he only has nine to his name from this past season. But he certainly is a young talent. He's 24 years old. He is one of those that could fit in the mould of what they're looking for in terms of having players for a long time and continuing to develop their game. He could be a good choice for them. So I imagine that it could be something that we see come to fruition in the next few days. But they definitely are weighing up their options in the transfer market in general right now, Real Madrid. Busy summer of transfers, which is how we like it. What about the final round of games? There was drama, wasn't there? But also a farewell for Real Betis legend in Joaquin. How good was he when you look back on his career? Well, we like to call him Joaquin because he is one of the kings of Spanish football. He's an absolute legend. Yesterday, it was so sad to see him go. He walked off in absolute tears, but he had such a lovely tribute paid to him. The whole stadium stood up to their feet, gave him such a lovely standing ovation. There you can see the images there. It was so colourful and they were really loud as well and singing his name and chanting his name as he came off. He's reached 622 appearances. That's the most of any footballer in Spanish history. And it goes equal with Zubizarreta, who is a very famous goalkeeper. So he's the outfield player with the most appearances in Spanish football. He was at the club for 14 years. He's part owner of the club as well. And he's someone who embodies Real Betis through and through. He will be so missed. He's so unique, quite a special character. He was a brilliant footballer as well. And unfortunately, he's 41 years old. He's going to be 42 soon. So you have to say goodbye sometime. But he's been such a wonderful person and player for Spanish football. And it's sad to see him go. Semra, great to see you. And I'm sure we'll speak to you a lot over the summer. Thank you. Thank you very much.