Liverpool Transfer News: Christian Benteke Deal 'Agreed', Major Reds Rumours
Liverpool are on the brink of signing Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke, with a deal apparently poised to be completed as early as Wednesday, according to reports.
That’s according to talkSPORT’s “Anfield Insider” Graham Beecroft, who claimed the Belgian forward will become the Reds’ seventh summer signing imminently:
"My understanding is Christian Benteke, who has been on their radar for some time, is very close indeed to signing for Liverpool. I expect him to sign if not today then certainly in the not too distant future. Liverpool have done their work and have sealed a deal [with Aston Villa]."
As noted in the aforementioned piece, the Reds have been linked with a move for the forward throughout the offseason, with Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers looking to banish the problems with the centre-forward position that blotted the 2014-15 season.
He’d certainly give the Merseysiders a different dimension with his hold-up play, power and, as we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, his aerial ability:
But in the wake of these revelations from talkSPORT, other outlets have moved to play down talk of any imminent deal. Indeed, James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo has since written that while the Reds do preserve an interest in the player, “the situation remains unchanged.”
Kristof Terreur of HLN also claimed that as far as the player and his agent are aware, there’s nothing to the story:
As noted by Pearce, Villa are holding out for a sum of £32.5 million for their prized asset, a sum which would trigger the player's release clause. The Reds are apparently only willing to go as high as £25 million for the 24-year-old, who finished the previous campaign in incredible form, helping the Midlands club to stave off relegation and into an FA Cup final.
However, it’s not a transfer story that’s stirred much excitement among the Liverpool faithful. Football editor and Reds fan Melissa Reddy succinctly summarises the concerns that a lot of fans have with this signing:
For a man as principled as Rodgers—don’t forget, he bombed out Andy Carroll almost immediately after taking on the Liverpool job—it’s a strange one. Benteke is a player who thrives off crosses into the box and the ball being played forward quickly to him, two tactics that are unlikely to be in place too often at Anfield.
As Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe put it, it’s not as if the Belgian is the wrong fit for Liverpool, he’s the wrong fit for Rodgers:
"If #LFC appointed Jurgen Klopp and then signed Christian Benteke, that'd be fierce. Absolutely fierce. He can be Klopp's Lewandowski.
— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) May 29, 2015"
Nonetheless, there is clearly some tangible interest there and given the clinical manner in which the Reds have secured their transfer targets so far, if they are really keen on Benteke, it’d be no surprise to see the club move swiftly to get a deal done.
But with a clear chasm in valuation between the two parties, it’d be a major surprise if a deal was concluded quite as quickly as was initially reported.
