According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United are the favorites to sign Karim Benzema.

Call it simple process of elimination more than breaking news, but here goes. Real Madrid, the club that the Lyon star has been a fan of since childhood, would appear to be out of the race for the foreseeable future for after the bargain signing of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

After Real Madrid, the likes of AC Milan and Manchester United have been heavily mentioned. AC Milan aren’t in financial straits by any means, but it’s hard to see them forking out the kind of fee. that Benzema would likely command.

So, that leaves United at the forefront, if they so choose to be. Benzema’s rated at £40m, and therein lies the question of whether or not United would actually fork out that much money for him right now Lyon might sell for a little less than that, but if he keeps on scoring like he is, it won’t be for much less, and might be for more.

Any expensive move for another striker would of course depend on what happens with Carlos Tevez, who made quite the argument for his long-term United future with his outstanding four-goal performance in last week’s Carling Cup win over Blackburn.

Should United pursue Benzema Do you think he’d play regularly enough to justify the large fee