Juventus have reportedly made contact with the agent of Real Madrid Karim Benzema following suggestions that Alvaro Morata will not be immediately sold on by Los Blancos this summer.
According to CalcioMercato, Juve's apparent approach is directly related to the additional competition for places that Morata will therefore bring to the Bernabeu in 2016/17.
It had been rumoured that after exercising the buy-back clause to take the young forward off Juventus for a fixed €30m price, Real would look for a quick profit by selling to the highest bidder, rumoured to be Arsenal or Chelsea in the Premier League.
However, now the 23-year-olddoes indeed appear to be staying in the Spanish capital for at least one year, Benzema's place in the line-up is the one most likely to come under threat.
Morata won't be favoured over Euro 2016 heroes Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale, but he does represent a different and fresher option compared to Benzema in a central role, a player five years his senior.
After being powerless to stop Morata from leaving after two years in Turin, it makes sense for the reigning Italian champions to target a new top striker to play alongside Paulo Dybala.
Despite injury and off-field problems in 2015/16, Benzema enjoyed his most prolific league season yet. He scored 24 times in 27 La Liga appearances, with his overall tally of 28 goals in 36 games bettered only by the 32 he netted in all competitions in 2011/12.
Morata, on the other hand, scored just seven times in Serie A last season, and 12 in all competitions.