Christian Benteke to Liverpool: £32.5m deal for striker to be finished swiftly - Brendan Rodgers to be held answerable
Christian Benteke
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Reds
ready to meet release clause of Aston Villa striker
Brendan Rodgers has convinced Liverpool’s
much- criticised transfer committee that the club should meet the £32.5m release
passage on Christian Benteke’s Aston Villa contract.
The 24-year-old Belgium
international will become the second most expensive player in Liverpool’s
history as soon as he agrees personal terms for the move to Merseyside, which
is expected to be concluded swiftly.
Rodgers made it clear in May to the
club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, that he viewed Benteke’s Signed
as the most significant piece of business the club will conduct this summer,
following a season where Liverpool’s struggle for goals ultimately cost them a
place in the Champions League.
In the last two years of Rodgers’s
reign, Liverpool’s transfer activities have been determined by the committee,
of which he is a part along with chief
executive, Ian Ayre, Dave Fallows, the head of recruitment, Barry
Hunter, the chief scout, and Michael Edwards, the head of performance and
analysis. Last summer it is believed that other members persuaded Rodgers it
would be prudent to sign Mario Balotelli before the Italian’s dreadful campaign
where he scored just once in the league. Publicly, Rodgers’s relationship with
the committee remains strong.
This could be viewed as another sign
of FSG’S commitment to Rodgers, who nevertheless will be perceived as
accountable if Benteke does not prove to be successful.
Liverpool are on the second leg of
their pre-season tour and will face Brisbane Roar on Friday morning before
flying south for another friendly match with Adelaide United on Monday.
It is likely that Benteke could join
the squad in Kuala Lumpur in time to play a Malaysia XI next Friday as Rodgers
is determined that all of his new signings will be fully fit and in-tune with
his demands before the opening game of the season at Stoke on August 9.
Liverpool’s move for Benteke grew
more urgent after it was claimed that Manchester United wanted to sign the
striker. Whether or not the suggestion was genuine, Liverpool realized they
could not afford to miss out on their No 1 target following experiences in
previous windows where players have moved to other clubs while they refused to
meet what they perceived as inflated demands.
Benteke’s imminent arrival means
that along with Balotelli and Fabio Borini, who are not with the squad on
tour, Rickie Lambert is likely to be moved on as soon as a buyer can be found.
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