Christian Benteke is set to become Liverpool’s eighth striker, after the Reds met his £32.5m buyout clause on Thursday in order to secure his release from Aston Villa (via BBC Sport).
The Belgian’s arrival, combined with that of Danny Ings, has left us with an incredible eight strikers vying for a shot at our first-team – something which will surely have to change before the transfer window closes.
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In the list below we analyse the prospects of each of our current players and discuss where they’ll be playing their football come the end of August…
Mario Balotelli
Having joined the Reds from AC Milan last summer, Luis Suarez’s emergency replacement proved to be anything but a successful gamble. He managed just one Premier League goal, although injury problems did restrict him to just sixteen appearances in the competitions. He’s been linked with a return to his native Italy this summer, but reports in the country suggest that this isn’t going to happen. If we find a buyer then he’ll surely go next month.
Verdict? Sell.
Christian Benteke
Liverpool haven’t got the best record with target men strikers, with Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch the best of a bad bunch in the Premier League era. The pressure is going to be on Benteke to produce as well, considering the amount of money that is going to be spent to acquire his services. He scored 15 in all competitions last season and he averages on in two for Villa, a respectable record for a struggling side. He’ll start the year as our first choice, especially with Daniel Sturridge still injured.
Verdict? Keep (obviously).
