Karim Benzema profile: 10 things you need to know about the Manchester United target

Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Karim Benzema would be better value than taking up the option on Carlos Tevez. Here's the Mirror.co.uk guide to the French starlet they call 'le phénomène'...

1) Benzema was born on 19 December 1987 in Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes. As he is of Algerian-Berber origin, likes wearing the No10 shirt and has a similar appearance to Zinadine Zidane, many have tried to label him the new Zizou.

2) However Benzema has said on numerous occasions that Brazilian striker Ronaldo, the three-time FIFA world player of the year, and not Zidane is his real hero. "He's my idol, the best player of all time as far I'm concerned," Benzema said. "I've got loads of DVDs of him in action and I watch them all the time. It's a little embarrassing when people compare me to him - I've still got plenty of room for progress and I'm just trying to continue working hard; if I can have a career a little bit like his, well, that would be extraordinary."

3) The 6ft striker has been on Lyon's books since the tender age of nine - and has long been earmarked for greatness. Benzema netted 14 goals in only 17 matches for France Under-17s and his team (which also included Arsenal's Samir Nasri) were crowned U-17s European Champions on home soil in 2004.

Here a young Benzema scores the winner for Lyon's youth team. He manages to nutmeg two Nimes' defenders before delicately scooping the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper.

4) Benzema put pen to paper on his first professional contract a few months after the U-17 success, but he was restricted to only six appearances in the 2004/05 season - as boss Gérard Houllier thought he was still too young. But he hinted at his special potential when he set a goal up on debut after coming on as a late substitute, cheekily dinking the ball over a bamboozled defender before centring neatly for Bryan Bergougnoux to stab in a winner. He made an even more impact on his Champions League bow the following season by finding the net himself against Rosenborg.

5) When Houllier stepped down from the Lyon hot-seat, his successor, Alain Perrin, gave Benzema a more important role in the team. And he responded to his manager's faith by smashing in 24 goals in 37 games in the 2006/07 season.

6) The following season - last year - Benzema scored an incredible 34 times: with head, left-foot, right-foot, chip, volley and dead-ball. He was Ligue 1's top scorer and named player of the season - not bad for a 20-year-old. He collected his fourth league title with Lyon - his eighth trophy for the club overall.

Here is a melange of his achievements last year which show just why Sir Alex was sniffing about Lyon for the wunderkind last summer:

7) On 28 March 2007, Benzema won his first cap for France against Austria, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory. Soon after he netted a brace against the Faroe Islands in a 6-0 win. He has now scored five goals in 22 appearances for his country.

8) Sir Alex had already intimated he was interested in taking Benzema to Old Trafford, but a stunning left-footed rocket from the youngster when Lyon faced United in the Champions League last 16 in 2008 would only have raised his opinion of the starlet - even if it wouldn't have made Fergie too happy at the time.

9) Increased interest from United provoked club president Jean-Michel Aulas to slap a £40m fee on his head, and on 13 March last year Benzema extended his contract with Lyon until 2013, with a one year extension option. The new deal meant that he became one of the highest paid footballers in France.

10) Benzema kicked off this current season well, bagging six goals in his first five matches. He became the most coveted youngster in Europe - Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and United have all inquired about him now - but to ward off would-be suitors Aulas asserted that the player would not be sold until Les Gones win the Champions League and upped his valuation to an eye-watering €100m. But Manchester United are targeting a £30million move.

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