( CNN ) -- Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has revealed that the Spanish club 's bosses have relented and will seek to sign him a new striker after all . Mourinho had initially been told that he could not replace Gonzalo Higuain , who could miss the rest of this season after having back surgery . France international Karim Benzema has been filling in for the Argentine , but Mourinho wants more options as Real seek to stop Barcelona retaining the Spanish title and also to win the European Champions League for the first time since 2002 . `` I am sticking to my beliefs . I think it would be good to have another forward for what is left of the season , '' Mourinho told Madrid 's website ahead of Sunday 's trip to bottom club Almeria . `` The club is looking into the possibility of signing a forward , which pleases me to no end . '' Real have been linked with a move to bring veteran Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy back to the Santiago Bernabeu , and the player 's German club Hamburg confirmed the La Liga side 's interest on its website on Saturday night . Hamburg also referred to comments the 34-year-old made after scoring the only goal against Schalke , who this season signed another former Real striker in Raul . `` The reports are correct . It has been a strange week , it has been hard to concentrate and I am just glad it worked out , '' Van Nistelrooy , who left Madrid a year ago , said in quotes carried by the AFP news agency . `` We just need to see what happens in the next few days , but it is not easy for me . It is not just any club which have expressed interest , it is Real . They are the only club which can make me change my mind . '' Real trail Barcelona by two points ahead of the halfway point of the Spanish season , with the Catalan club hosting Malaga on Sunday . Third-placed Villarreal won 4-2 at home to Osasuna on Saturday to be 10 points adrift of Barcelona . The highlight of the match was a superb goal from halfway by Ruben Cani that put Villarreal 2-1 ahead . Espanyol joined fourth-placed Valencia on 34 points with a 2-1 win at Sevilla as striker Jose Callejon twice beat the offside trap to score in each half , doubling his tally for this season . Sevilla substitute Alvaro Negredo scored in time added on despite an apparent handball , but his team stayed in 10th place . Athletic Bilbao moved up to sixth place with a 2-1 win at home to Racing Santander following goals inside the first 10 minutes from Javi Martinez and Iker Muniain . Ivan Bolado reduced the deficit with 15 minutes to play , but his fellow striker Pedro Munitis was sent off as the match came to an ill-tempered close with five players booked at the end . Ninth-placed Getafe crashed to a 4-0 defeat at home to Real Sociedad , who ended a run of four defeats as Mikel Aranburu scored a late double . Real Zaragoza moved up to third from bottom above Levante after beating their relegation rivals 1-0 as Gabi Fernandez scored the winner on halftime for the home team . Sporting Gijon joined Zaragoza on 16 points , with a better goal difference , after beating Hercules 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from David Barral and Nacho Cases .
Jose Mourinho hoping to land a new striker after Real Madrid sanction a signing . Real could be without the injured Gonzalo Higuain for the rest of this season . Former Real star Ruud van Nistelrooy claims he is wanted by the Spanish club . TL;DR