Twitter Reacts as Liverpool Reportedly Trigger Christian Benteke Release Clause

A matter of days after earning £49 million from the sale of Raheem Sterling, Liverpool have reportedly reinvested the bulk of that cash in Aston Villa's Christian Benteke. According to several sources, including the Guardian and James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, the Reds have triggered the Belgian's £32.5 million release clause:

Liverpool fans have been mostly satisfied with the club's transfer business so far this summer, often showering praise on CEO Ian Ayre, but many were extremely unhappy with the move for the man who has averaged roughly a goal every other game for Villa: 

"

I just can't see benteke suit the way we tend to play, if he proves me wrong then great

— j (@JackONLFC) July 16, 2015"

"

So we'll spend £32.5m on Benteke.... https://t.co/h9ffZ4yPWx

— MostarLFC (@MostarLFC) July 16, 2015"

"

£32.5 million can get you literally anyone in the world. We go for Aston Villa's Benteke.

— - (@AnfieldRd96) July 16, 2015"

The consensus, among Liverpool fans and most football fans on Twitter, is that Benteke is not worth the tremendous fee he is commanding:

"

£32m for Benteke  average striker IMO, we showed in the cup final how easy he is to mark out of a game!

— Mr DT © (@DeejayDt) July 16, 2015"

"

Benteke is good... But he's not 32.5 million good! The victims again getting their pants pulled down. Villa have had them a treat..

— Junior (@Junior02334) July 16, 2015"

Many have pointed out that other clubs might be conducting some better-value business:

Despite all the dissent against the latest news from Anfield, some attempted to reason that Benteke's price tag isn't too outrageous:

One Liverpool fan even suggested the deal was good value because of its potential knock-on effect:

"

But whatever if Benteke gets Rodgers the sack, 32.5 mp might just be value for money from my persepective

— Hari (@harikriss) July 16, 2015"

It should also be noted that there were many Reds fans who were happy with the deal:

In spite of losing their goalscoring hero, there were also many Aston Villa fans who were delighted by the move:

Predictably, the news has inspired plenty of banter—much of it at the expense of the Kop faithful:

"

The Sterling money after Benteke: pic.twitter.com/ZzYfvB7TZW

— Philipe (@RealPhilS) July 16, 2015"

Assuming the deal goes through, Brendan Rodgers' next task is to figure out how to assemble a starting XI: