Christian Benteke wants to speak to Jurgen Klopp and hear what the Liverpool manager has in store for him ahead of next season, reports the Guardian.
The Belgian forward came off the bench against Sevilla, but was never in contention for a start – which is relatively damning for a £32.5m striker signing.
He’s never been first-choice under the German, who’s preferred Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and even Roberto Firmino throughout the campaign.
Benteke wants to hear what his manager has to say in private before making future plans, and suggests some of his team-mates will do the same.
Asked about how he dealt with being benched early on during Klopp’s tenure, the 25-year-old said:
“At the beginning it was not easy, it was really hard to accept that but I have learned to respect the choice of the manager. I will now try to speak with him and see what his plans are.”
“I’m not the only who is going to do that, a lot of players are going to want to know what will happen next season.
“I signed for five years, I didn’t sign for one year, and now I have to speak with the manager and see his plans for next season. It has been a tough [first season]. I knew Liverpool is a massive club with a lot of pressure and a lot of good players, and it has not been easy [to settle in]. But I keep going and never doubt myself. I’m now going to focus on the Euros and see what happens next season.”
Chris Bascombe in the Telegraph has suggested that many of the players seen on Wednesday night in Basel will not be at Liverpool ahead of next season, and based on their performances that night, he’s probably got a point.
Benteke scored ten goals for Liverpool this season, which is decent considering the opportunities he got, but we’re not in a position where we can have a £110k-per-week forward as an impact sub.
Expect Benteke, along with a number of his colleagues, to make way.