Christian Benteke’s Anfield horrors could soon come to an end after reports from Sport claimed that Spanish side Atletico Madrid have prepared a whopping £37million offer for the striker. Diego Simeone is keen to bring the Belgium International to replace Jackson Martinez and the former Liverpool hero Fernando Torres.
Torres started most of the games for Atletico last season but Simeone is keen to bring a more prolific and a physical striker next season. Benteke certainly fits the profile after his one in two games goal ratio with Aston Villa. Despite his stop-start career at Liverpool, the 25-year old forward has scored 9 times in 29 league appearances for The Reds.
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However, Jurgen Klopp has preferred to field either Divock Origi or Daniel Sturridge ahead of him and now with Danny Ings back from his injury setback and Sadio Mane’s arrival, one does not expect Benteke to have much game time at Anfield next season.
Meanwhile, Atletico are willing to seek financial boost from their Qatari investors to make the deal possible. Simeone is keen on pushing Real Madrid and Barcelona season after season for the league and European glory and that is the reason why he snubbed all the big money offers he had from the Premier League and Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
Also read: Reports: Real Madrid plot move for Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny
He believes he has the right crop of players who can form the base of a successful team for many seasons to come. One area he is eager to strengthen is the striker’s position with Christian Benteke and Diego Costa eyed as the perfect options.
While Simeone’s first choice is Costa, he is yet to know the Spanish striker’s stance following an indifferent season with Chelsea and the Euro 2016 snub.
That is why Atletico are keeping their options open by launching a massive bid for Benteke. The Belgium international is also linked with a move to West Ham and Crystal Palace this summer after both those clubs failed to sign Michy Batshuayi who has allegedly signed for Chelsea in the last 24 hours.
Despite all these rumours flying around, Benteke’s agent is quite certain of his stay at Anfield next season. Speaking in an exclusive with Sport Witnes, Kismet Eris said: "There' nothing at all with any team."
And when asked if he expects Benteke to stay with the Reds for the 2016/17 campaign, he added, "yes”.
