Why Atletico Madrid Should Sign Liverpool's Christian Benteke This Summer

Sometimes in football, things just don’t work out, regardless of how hard you try.

When he signed for Liverpool in the summer, Christian Benteke would have envisaged his next step, as he moved on from a perennially struggling Aston Villa and to a Reds side hoping to chase a UEFA Champions League place under then-manager Brendan Rodgers.

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The Northern Irishman had placed a lot of faith in the Belgian as the man who could help the Reds recover from a disappointing 2014/15, when the manager’s underwhelming signings of Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert had failed to adequately replace the departed Luis Suarez and perennially injured Daniel Sturridge. Of course they hadn’t.

But Rodgers was already on borrowed time, and he was to stand or fall by the Reds’ form at the beginning of this campaign. And so, in a sense, was Benteke.

A goal on his Anfield debut and a stunning strike in a defeat at Manchester United were all well and good, but Benteke wasn’t inspiring great things from Rodgers’ Liverpool, and when the manager was sacked in early October, the spotlight was turned on his £32.5 million signing—the most expensive of 33 players he brought to the club in three-and-a-half years at Anfield.

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Enter Jurgen Klopp, “rock n’ roll football” and the German’s own, very public, ideas.

Benteke had to hit the ground running (almost literally) in order to not be seen as the disappointment Rodgers left behind, but that never happened. With Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho all impressing, and the likes of Divock Origi and Adam Lallana in reserve, as well as Klopp’s own targets in the summer, he’s suddenly begun to look a little lost.

That has been reflected in comments the forward has made on international duty, as reported here by the Guardian. Benteke said:

"

I was obviously happy [moving to Liverpool], I joined a great club. I knew I could face difficult months but in the long run, it would work.

At the beginning of season and although I have not scored enough, I showed people that I could play, combine, I was confident for the future.

“I am the first to say that I have not shown enough my worth for club like Liverpool but, on the other hand, when I arrived under Brendan Rodgers, I knew I would have the opportunity to show my qualities, I was worth all that money, I deserved to wear the Liverpool shirt.

But now … I knew that the new coach might have a different opinion on me – and that’s what happened.

Even my father was annoyed at first by my status as a reservist and told me that I can do nothing. I spoke with Eden [Hazard] and with Marouane [Fellaini], they all gave me the same answer – when a coach does not count on you, you cannot change anything.

I never would have signed if I had not been the priority of the coach.

"

Shots fired? Well, more so here than on the pitch, certainly, and the forward’s frustrations have led to a fresh round of transfer rumours, with Atletico Madrid the latest club to be linked with the 25-year-old, as per the Daily Mirror.

After coming under fire for missing a presentable chance to put Liverpool 3-1 up at Southampton last Sunday (a match they went on to lose 3-2), there is an increasing sense that Benteke can’t turn this around at Anfield, but that shouldn’t stop Atletico from making their move.

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A striker short following the departure of Jackson Martinez to China in January—not to mention enjoying the huge windfall that brought—Diego Simeone’s side should be on the lookout for a big-name addition to help their renewed assault on toppling Spain’s big two in 2016/17.

The Vicente Calderon stadium has been the home of several of Europe’s finest forwards in recent years, and Benteke might just need the move in order to rediscover previous highs. Not to mention he’d be enjoying Champions League football, something that is unlikely to happen at Liverpool next season.

It really is no-one’s fault that his move hasn’t worked out, and with Klopp looking to put his stamp on the club in the summer, Benteke is probably going to have to leave.

Atletico Madrid would be a great move for him, and it would be one of those rare occasions in football where everyone ends up a winner.

He might need Atletico as much as Atletico need him.