ESPNsoccernet: Europe

Lyon coach Claude Puel insists the club's priority during the winter transfer window is to keep star striker Karim Benzema.

Benzema continues to be linked with a move away from Lyon with any of European football's leading lights, despite putting pen to paper on a new big-money contract in March, which ties him to Les Gones until 2013.

The France international is one of the hottest properties on the global stage after netting over 40 goals for club and country over the past two seasons, and last month admitted he hoped to play for Real Madrid one day.

However, Puel claims the 20-year-old is going nowhere for the time being.

"We have to keep Karim Benzema," he told Le Parisien. "It's essential and a priority for the future of the club.

"He needs another year to have the necessary skills to prosper elsewhere."