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News broke via the Echo earlier this week that Liverpool will try to sign Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell, with a £5m fee mooted, but it appears the Premier League champion’s response will be with an approach of their own for one of ours…
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport claim that manager Claudio Ranieri, with whom they have close links, has earmarked Christian Benteke as a potential summer signing.
The Belgian has 50 Premier League goals in 115 games for Aston Villa and Liverpool, but his future at Anfield is not secure after a disappointing season following his £32.5m summer switch. He’s scored ten goals in total, but has failed to adapt to Jurgen Klopp’s methodology and has found himself down the striking pecking order as a result.
Leicester have relied on Jamie Vardy’s goals all season, with Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa playing supporting roles, but with Champions League football guaranteed in 2016/17, Ranieri would be foolish not to strengthen now he has the opportunity.
West Ham (via Mirror) and West Brom (via Daily Mail) have also been credited with an interest in the powerhouse forward, who favours a direct tactical approach which maximises his aerial ability.
Liverpool prefer to go through teams or create chances with clever passes or counter-attacks, something which doesn’t naturally suit Benteke.
For the right price this summer, especially with the emergence of Divock Origi and the return of Danny Ings, we should consider offloading Benteke – but only of course for the right price. If he’s moving to a Premier League club, that price should be higher.