One of the biggest talking points this month has been Liverpool’s potential move for Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke. There have been a wide-range of claims regarding the Belgian’s immediate future. The Daily Star are certain that a move is going to happen, while Sky Sports are less convinced by the prospect of a deal coming good.
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Liverpool transfer news
What everyone is agreed on, is that it’s going to cost us at least £30m to convince Villa to sell. Sky confirm that the player has a £32.5m buyout clause in his contract and Tim Sherwood’s side will have little chance of convincing the Belgian to stay put if such an offer comes in – but they do want him to stay.
Are we right to be throwing such money around? Many Liverpool fans aren’t convinced. While one of our own – Jordan Harris – attempted to make the case for the 24-year-old ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final, which Villa lost 4-0 at the hands of Arsenal. You can read his thoughts on the transfer by clicking HERE.
We’ve taken a more balanced approach in the list below, as we count down the five pros and five cons of Benteke. Have a read and let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Is he the man for us?
Pro: He scores goals!
We need a striker who’s going to find the net on a regular basis – we can’t just expect Daniel Sturridge to hit the ground running when he returns from injury and we can’t honestly expect Divock Origi to be particularly prolific at this stage. The reality is that Benteke has scored 15 goals for Aston Villa this season – that’s more than Sturridge, Rickie Lambert, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini combined. Surely he’d improve our strikeforce significantly?!
Pro: He offers us something different
A lot has been made of us finding a striker who fits the ‘Liverpool way’. Well, the ‘Liverpool way’ hasn’t been working for more than a year and the prospect of trying something slightly different is not the worst idea in the world. It’s not as though he’s Rickie Lambert either, a player with about as much pace as Daniel Sturridge on one leg. He might be strong and powerful, but he’s also good with his feet for a big man and he can lead the line well.
Pro: He’s used to playing with Origi
Belgium have been one of the best sides to watch on the international stage in recent years. At the World Cup, while Benteke was injured, it was Divock Origi that stole the spotlight. Both players have proved by playing for their country that they’re more than capable of producing on the bigger stage. What better way to get the best out of both players than to allow them to play up front together? Simon Mignolet certainly agrees with that.
Pro: He’s proven in the Premier League
There are very few readily available players of Premier League quality that could come straight into our side this summer. It’s difficult to deny the fact that Benteke is one of those. He’s scored 49 goals in just 100 games for Aston Villa – and if you consider their final league positions over the last couple of years, as well as their distinctive lack of goals, then that tally looks all the more impressive. He scored 23 in 2012-13, and that could be repeated.
Pro: He’s still young and could improve
People lose sight of the fact that this guy is only 24 – he should just be coming into the peak years of his career. Liverpool’s best business in previous years has been done by getting players just as they’re finding their top form – think Fernando Torres or Luis Suarez – where their reputations any different before they came to Anfield? Yes, Benteke is a different type of player and we feel we know him better because he’s spent three years in the Premier League, but there’s no reason why he can’t follow the same path.
Con: Money!
The £30m plus fee is an extraordinary amount of money and would heap a huge amount of pressure on the player to deliver. Would we be complaining if the rumours were of a £15m transfer? There would probably be a lot less people talking about it that’s for sure. We’ve only paid a fee in excess of £30m once before and that was for Andy Carroll. Most Liverpool fans won’t need reminding how that one worked out for us. Can we do better for this fee?
Con: He’s not proven at the top level
He’s played for Genk, Standard Liege and Aston Villa. He’s only ever won one trophy in his career – the Belgian first division in 2009 – and he only played nine times that season, scoring just three goals. Surely, for the sort of money that is being suggested, we need to be signing a quality player who has experience at the top level. We need to be building that winning mentality, not signing players who have won next to nothing in their careers.
Con: Injury concerns
Benteke has missed ten Premier League games this season. During the last campaign, he missed 12. Has he been unlucky? Absolutely, the majority of that absence can be put down to a single injury, the rupturing of an achilles tendon in April of last year, but we’ve been here before haven’t we – Daniel Sturridge has already given us so many headaches with his constant issues and we’d be loathe to have another striker sitting on the sidelines.
Con: Could his form be temporary?
He might have scored 15 goals this season but it’s worth pointing out that 12 of those have come in the last 13 games. It’s an impressive purple patch but it makes us question what he was doing for the first six months of the season? The whole Villa side were struggling for goals under Paul Lambert and Tim Sherwood’s introduction has paid dividends for the now in-form striker. But will he struggle for Liverpool if we don’t match Sherwood’s style.
Con: Doesn’t fit our preferred style of play
That leads us on nicely to our final point. We mentioned earlier that it might be worth trying something different, but is Benteke too much of a step in the wrong direction? He scores a lot of his goals from headers and we aren’t known for getting the ball down the flanks and crossing it into the box. Will he enjoy the same level of success if he’s feeding off the flicks and tricks of Philippe Coutinho or Raheem Sterling? We may never know the answer.
