Real eyeing Wolsburg´s Dzeko – reports

Real Madrid want to replace the injured Gonzalo Higuain in the winter transfer window with Wolfsburg’s Bosnian star Edin Dzeko a key target, Spanish media reported Friday.

“If there is a club that wants him and that appreciates him, we certainly could do something in the winter market,” Dzeko’s representative, Irfan Redzepagic, told sports daily Marca.

“Obviously, we like Real Madrid, it’s a great club.”

But he said that “there are several major clubs that are interested in him. Choosing one of them is difficult, but Real Madrid is a team that everyone wants to play for, one of the biggest. It would be a fantastic choice.”

Real would probably have to pay 40 million euros if it wants the 24-year-old, Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hoeness was quoted as saying in another sports daily, AS.

“We’ve had no call from Real… I myself have met (Real chairman) Florentino (Perez) and (managing director Jorge) Valdano when I went to the Bernabeu to see the Real-Milan match and nothing was brought up” about Dzeko, he said.

The Spanish press said Dzeko is Real’s top choice to replace Higuain, but the club is also considering Werder Bremen’s Portuguese star Hugo Almeida and Spanish-Brazilian Rodrigo, lent to Benfica by Real with a buy-back option.

Real’s club doctor said Wednesday that Higuain has a herniated disk and may need to undergo surgery which would sideline him for around two months.

The 22-year-old Argentine has not played since Real’s 5-1 thrashing of Athletic Bilbao on November 20. He was replaced by French striker Karim Benzema during Real’s 5-0 away loss to Barcelona on Monday.