Former Reds striker Christian Benteke, who scored just once for Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season, claims he could still get into the team under Jurgen Klopp now, despite the German letting him go soon after arriving at Anfield.
Speaking exclusively to Sport Bible, the Belgian number nine was asked whether he could still do a job alongside the likes of Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah.
He said: “Yeah. It’s easy to say now because I play for Palace and they play for Liverpool, but when you train every day with the same players and the manager believes in you, it’s easier.
“People will say I’m making excuses, but everyone knows the club was going through a transition when I was there. If you compare the team from when I was there to the current team, I think there are only three, four players still in the first XI, most of them are new.”
Benteke perhaps could not say anything other than that without sounding devoid of confidence, but equally, this clearly is not the case. He seems to be hinting that with a little more backing from Klopp he could have been at Firmino and Salah’s level.
READ MORE:
Reds reportedly interested in Brazilian forward who knows Roberto Firmino well
He was a superb player for Aston Villa but never quite fitted in at Anfield because of his style of play. Even since moving to Crystal Palace it has gone far from smoothly.
It was always simply a case of a good player, but not the right one for the Reds.