5 May 2015

Legend: Liverpool must 'pay whatever it takes' to sign £30m goal-machine. Agree?

With 12 goals/assists in his last 9 games, Christian Benteke is on fire for Aston Villa right now, and with the Reds reportedly weighing up a summer move for the striker, Liverpool legend John Aldridge has urged his old club to pull out all the stops to sign the Belgian powerhouse.

Aston Villa allegedly want £30m for Benteke, and according to Aldo, he's worth every penny. In his Monday column for Sunday World (that's not a typo!), Aldo urged Liverpool to 'pay whatever it takes to lure Benteke to Anfield'. He added:

"He [Benteke] is a proven performer and a real handful leading the line. He might not be a typical Rodgers type of player, but I think he would be great for Liverpool"

When asked on Friday about Benteke's future, Villa boss Tim Sherwood insisted that he doesn't want to sell the Belgian, but conceded that money talks. He told reporters:

"It would have to be a lot of money for anyone to take him [Benteke] from us [but] if a player doesn't want to play for the club anymore...then I think it's always best to let them go."

Villa star Leandro Bacuna is desperate for Benteke to stay, and when asked about the striker on Monday, he enthused:

"It's going to be hard to hang onto him [Benteke]. I don't know if he is the best striker in the Premier League, but he is definitely one of the best"

Benteke's overall record for Villa is excellent:

* 46 goals/13 assists in 96 apps for Villa.
* Goal/assist every 1.6 games.

However, £30m is arguably too much for a player who's suffered injury problems and inconsistent form for most of the last two seasons:

* Since the appointment of Tim Sherwood, Benteke has smashed in 12 goals/assists in 9 games, but prior that, he contributed a meagre 3 goals/2 assists in 20 games.

* Last season, he grabbed 11 goals in 26 appearances, which isn't that great, either.

* Spending big money on the back of short-term purple patch is not (IMO) the best transfer strategy. Benteke is doing well now, but once the Sherwood effect runs out, will he still score at the same rate?

Benteke's change in fortunes suggests that he's a confidence player who doesn't have the stomach for a fight, rather than a leader who will step-up when the chips are down (which is what Liverpool need)

That said, perhaps Paul Lambert was the problem; like Rodgers, Tim Sherwood is (increasingly) renowned for his man-management skills, and if the ex-Spurs boss can get the Belgian scoring on a regular basis, perhaps Rodgers can, too.

If he's here next season, that is.

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Author: Jaimie K


26 comments:

  1. Benteke is a very good player but he could turn out to be a more expensive Sturridge great when he's fit but not fit that often. Lacazette is the striker we should push for if possible along with Depay.

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  2. To expensive, to injury prone, to much risk.

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  3. Should we "try" and sign Benteke? I would say yes, but part of that "try" would be negotiating a deal closer to 15M. If that can't be accomplished, we're better off looking elsewhere.

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  4. We should go for Lacazette plus Nolito

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  5. Add some more to get lacazette .........

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  6. Stan Dinaround5:50 pm, May 05, 2015

    Lacazette yeah. But Nolito is too old and not as good as all that, he has great pace (which we have) and hates to use his weaker foot....I think Celta Vigo should keep him, and if they have any heart, they can take Aspas back aswell.

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  7. Stan Dinaround5:52 pm, May 05, 2015

    I reckon we should buy Di Natale and Miroslav Klose... seriously... I do..

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  8. Man, leave age there. LFC have signed an array of youth players in the past years who never delivered. When SAF thought it was time to win the league and retire, he signed RVP at 29 for 24m pounds. RVP won him the league that season and he is still reporting. Nolito is pacey in tandem with Liverpool's style of play and he can still give us 4 years. We need experience to deliver result, not just youth for growth. How old was Suarez when we sold him to FCB. See what is doing for the current club now? Wouldnt you sign CR7 even at 32? Once beaten, twice shy.

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  9. 30mil for somebody to keep Sturridge company sounds a bit steep to me.

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  10. Stan Dinaround6:07 pm, May 05, 2015

    Not really the point though, Ronaldo is the best in the world, and never ever comparible to Nolito... Nolito just isn't all that if you remove his pace... and at 28, he just ain't going to get any better...especially when his legs start to go..Non of the players you mention are even comparible with Nolito, RVP had 1 good season under Fergie, then started having a tantrum when Moyes was manager, refusing to respect him, and even play with Rooney... This season he is a shadow of the player Fergie paid £24m for...

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  11. Why would he join Liverpool?

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  12. That's where need to splash the cash if we are indeed going to splash the cash...

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  13. Why wouldn't he if he had the chance ? but i wouldn't risk 30M on a player who doesn't look like he'll get you 20 goal/season any time soon.

    (Always funny to see someone with the same name as me, but that's quite a common one though)

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  14. I thought the same when I saw 666v1nny so I decided to use StuartC instead

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  15. Hah.. I agree but if they were subbing each another they would last half a season before they dropped dead..

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  16. Rohan Anderson6:45 pm, May 05, 2015

    I would love Pirlo, reckon he would get Balo firing aswell.

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  17. I have never been a huge fan of Benteke. He seems to be a player that only lights up once in a while and I find him massively overrated. Like others, I despise these flavour of the month players which the British media fawn over. This is one of the major problems in the British game at the moment. We have signed enough of these players in the past and I would not advocate signing him. We need a consistent goalscorer which Benteke is not.

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  18. Great players but cannot last the course of a season. If we get them as backups, that will be a great deal. Di Natale is one of my all time favourite players and I would love him at Anfield. But, I think the ship has sailed.

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  19. How much did Carroll cost ?
    On that basis benteke is a £40 million player

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  20. With that logic we should overpay for every striker we sign.

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  21. Benteke would be a great signing, he turns up against big teams. Has pace, strength and an eye for a goal. Put in our team where we create more than Villa it would work.

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  22. Lacazette would be a dream signing, so would seeing Bob Marley in concert next week!

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  23. I think Benteke will be a good signing for under 25mn.

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  24. I would pay villa 30mil for him on the grounds that villa gives us back 1mil for every match he misses through injury.by the end of the 1st season he will be almost free.

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  25. Sadly I know, and Di Natalie said that LFC are the one club he would have loved to play for.... Cracking player in his day...

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  26. Generous...Then again, if we tell them to stay in and around the penalty area, we could probably get a great deal of goals from them....As long as they could play like Balotelli, they'll be alright.

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