22 Mar 2016

Transfer Sensation: After Klopp bust-up, Liverpool could sell 'unplayable' attacker for £40m. Rivals willing to pay

After an underwhelming season at Anfield, Liverpool striker Christian Benteke is almost certainly on Jurgen Klopp's transfer exit list for the upcoming summer transfer window, but where will he end up, and will Liverpool be able to recoup his massive £32m transfer fee?

According to Sky Sports today, the Reds are in a position to actually make a profit on Benteke:

"West Ham have identified Christian Benteke...as a priority target. Sources have told Sky Sports that they are prepared to pay as much as £40m".

£40m for Benteke? It seems improbable, but if it's true, then Gods are well and truly shining down on Liverpool.

Benteke - described by Steven Gerrard as 'unplayable at times' - may not be worth £40m to Liverpool, but if utilised correctly (which hasn't been the case at Anfield), he's clearly worth that money to some clubs.

West Ham regularly utilise a big man up-front, so it makes sense to target Benteke, who is possibly seen as a replacement for the injury-prone Andy Carroll.

Will Benteke want to leave? After being marginalised by Klopp over the last few months, and then publicly embarrassed by the manager on Sunday, I don't see why he'd want to stay. Plus, if he misses out on Belgium's Euro 2016 squad - which boss Marc Wilmots recently admitted is a possibility - then all bets are off.

Benteke probably thought that signing for Liverpool would enhance his international prospects, but Klopp's mismanagement has ensured that the striker's Euro 2016 chances are now hanging by a thread.

I maintain that Jurgen Klopp is 90% to blame for the Benteke's under-performance at Liverpool. Lesser managers have got the best out of Benteke, but Klopp - allegedly one of the world's superstar coaches - has utterly failed to get him firing.

That said, irrespective of the reasons for Benteke's ineffectiveness, it's time for a change, and the days of spending big bucks on tall, comparatively immobile strikers are hopefully over.

Author: Jaimie K


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