Would this be deemed strengthening a rival? Or should we simply be happy to take the money…?
According to Matt Hughes in the Times, a report we can trust, Chelsea will turn their attentions to Liverpool forward Christian Benteke should they miss out on their former striker Romelu Lukaku.
Hughes claims that incoming boss Antonio Conte is desperate to sign a new centre-forward, with Diego Costa possibly returning to Atletico Madrid – and has earmarked the Belgian duo as his first choice.
Everton’s Lukaku, who scored 25 goals in all competitions last term, is the first choice – but with PSG and Juventus ready to stump up the £65m price-tag – Chelsea feel they could miss out.
As a result, they’re considering 25-year-old Benteke, who the Times think would cost between £20m and £23m.
An offer in that region should appease Liverpool, who will surely recognise the mistake we made in buying him last summer.
Benteke’s a good player, but if we’re sticking with Jurgen Klopp, which we absolutely should, Benteke is surplus to requirements as his strengths and traits don’t match the manager’s tactical demands.
Ideally we’d offload Benteke abroad so he doesn’t come back to bite us, but we should probably accept anything over £20m for a player who won’t be more than a benchwarmer.