New twist in Crystal Palace man’s future after late-season revival
Christian Benteke’s agent has revealed that there has been plenty of interest in the striker but talks are ongoing about a new deal at Crystal Palace.
Benteke, 30, will fall out of contract at the end of next month and it had seemed likely he would leave Selhurst Park. But it now appears as though the Belgium international could have a future with the south London outfit. Having joined the Eagles after just one year at Liverpool, he enjoyed a decent first season, bagging 17 goals in all competitions.
However, the former Genk ace has never returned to those levels, with only six goals across the next three seasons. He did hit double figures in 2020-2021, ending up with 10 and four in his last four top-flight outings.
Sam Allardyce tried to take him on loan in the winter window to aid West Brom’s relegation fight. However, both the former England chief and the Baggies failed in their quest as the striker remained with Palace and Albion went down.
There has also been interest from Turkish clubs. But agent Kismet Eris has made it clear that, while the Belgian has options, Benteke could stay where he is.
“Palace are happy with Benteke,” he told Fanatik (via football.london). “We are still in talks with them. Plus, there are clubs from England and Europe that are showing an interest in him.
“Right now, he’s fully focused on the upcoming Euros. In the winter transfer window, we had an offer from Besiktas but his contract with Palace was ongoing at the time, so the move never materialised.”
Benteke holds all the aces
Most things seemed to point to a summer exit for the misfiring forward until his upturn in form. After drawing a blank since mid December, the Zaire-born star ended his drought against Brighton on February 22.
He then found the net against Tottenham and Chelsea before a strong four-goal end to the campaign. And departing boss Roy Hodgson admitted that finding his scoring boots will have helped his future prospects.
He recently told reporters: “Obviously if you’re [a player] whose contract is running out and you’re in good form suddenly the chips fall into your favour more than the other way around.
“If you’re not playing well and your contract is running out, perhaps it’s the club who hold the cards. At the moment he’s in a good position in that respect.”
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