Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
The Mirror reports that Crystal Palace are ready to sell their misfiring striker Christian Benteke in the summer, provided that they can recoup most of the money they paid for him when signing the Belgian from Liverpool 2 years ago.
Palace, who secured their Premier League survival, whilst condemning Stoke to relegation at the same time, by beating the Potters on Saturday, are beginning to make their recruitment plans for the summer, and the 27 year-old Belgian has been deemed surplus to requirements, after a season that has seen him score a meagre three Premier League goals.
Benteke, who arrived in English football from Belgian club Genk when signing for Aston Villa in 2012, established a big name for himself with the Midlands club, scoring 42 goals in 89 appearances. A big-money move to Liverpool ensued, but he struggled to adapt on Merseyside, and spent most of the time on the bench because he did not suit Jurgen Klopp’s style of play. The £27 million move to Palace was meant to revive his career but, instead, his star has waned even further, and it is likely he will be playing his football elsewhere next season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.