I have little doubt that if we have 30 million to spend on a striker that Brendan will be handed a list and told to mark off the ones he would not even consider, past that he will go down the list and rank them.
Gordon and whoever else is doing the transfers will start at the #1 and try to get that player.
We have been linked with Benteke since last year, we are heavily linked with him now and that is not because Brendan is having Benteke shoved down his throat its because he is at or near the top of his rankings.
Why wasn't benteke signed last summer then? We had a wad of cash but we brought in lambert and Balotelli for 20m combined. Benteke would have gone for near enough that.
We were in for Sanchez who is a completely different type of player to Benteke. It was rumoured we showed interest in both Tevez and Bacca this summer who fit into our system far better than Benteke does.
Who's left who we can bring in realistically? What strikers are available who we can afford and who want to play for us? I'm struggling to think of anyone.
So like last season when we were left with Balotelli as the only option it feels the same way with benteke now.
I bet now that benteke is signed and he will start the first dozen or so games for us because of the price we paid for him. We will all become frustrated with him and he will end up being dropped. Ings will come in and do a far better job. I'll bet anything Ings scores more goals for us than Benteke does next season should we sign him.
I find it hard to believe Rodgers wants benteke to lead our attack when he persisted with sterling (the absolute opposite of a target man) as a lone striker last season when he had Balotelli - who is better than benteke. He also had lambert who did well the previous season.
I also find it hard to believe he wants benteke because I don't see where sturridge comes in once he is fit. You can't bench benteke because we paid 30+ for him so what are the options? Drop sturridge? Play sturridge wide? Play sturridge and benteke as a pair? None of them work.
I also don't see how benteke will link up with coutinho and firmino who will be our attack next season. They keep it on the deck and benteke is at his best when balls are played forward to him or he is given something to attack. He isn't a pass and move player.
At least Ings will run into space and give cou and firm something to work with. They will struggle playing with benteke.
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