3 Real Madrid stars impacted by the potential arrival of Luka Jovic

#1 Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema will have to battle it out with Luka Jovic for the coveted Real Madrid No.9 starting spot

Benzema has had a superb season, but at some point, he is bound to feel threatened by the arrival of Jovic, who has definitely been earmarked as Real's long-term no.9. Zidane's preferred No.9 choice, the Frenchman has bagged 25 goals and 8 assists in all competitions this season for Los Blancos and is their top goal-getter. However, his league strike rate of 137 goals per minute is inferior to Jovic's Bundesliga rate of a goal every 127 minutes.

Jovic is currently tied as the top scorer of the UEFA Europa League with 10 goals (alongwith Chelsea's Olivier Giroud) while Benzema managed 4 goals in a disappointing Champions League season for Madrid, where they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Ajax.

31-year-old Benzema is clearly approaching the final stages of his career while 21-year-old Jovic will be looked upon by Los Blancos as a potential long-term successor. Benzema and Bale together have been unable to take up the goalscoring responsibilities post the departure of Ronaldo and with a deal for Chelsea's Eden Hazard reportedly already in place, the duo could soon be replaced by the more youthful Hazard-Jovic combo.