Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) - SIGNED BY LFC

Tony Barrett:
 Liverpool are hopeful that an offer of more than £20m will convince Villa to sell Benteke.

Dominic King - Liverpool look set to step up their interest in Christian Benteke after the striker has played in the FA Cup final.

Dominic King - The Belgium is one of #LFC's prime targets. They are also aiming to wrap up deals for James Milner and Danny Ings.

#LFC will bid for Benteke after the FA Cup final. Villa rate him at £30m. (Bascombe)

Benteke, Ings and Milner.

Top 4 watch out! 

Hopefully we tell them to do one. He isn't anywhere near consistent enough.

Another injury prone player to join sturridge good work Liverpool.

Just don't see Benteke working out. 30mill ?! could spend that better imo.

Tony Barrett's piece in the Times:

Liverpool are preparing a bid for Christian Benteke but will not lodge it until after Aston Villa have played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Benteke enters the final two years of his contract at Villa Park this summer and Liverpool are hopeful that an offer of more than £20 million will convince Villa to sell the Belgium forward, who Brendan Rodgers wants to become the new spearhead of his attack.

Rodgers wants to add greater physicality and firepower to Liverpool’s front line and believes that Benteke would provide both qualities, hence the 24-year-old emerging as one of the club’s chief transfer targets before what promises to be another close season of change at Anfield.

Liverpool have also begun the process of overhauling their squad by preparing the way for those players Rodgers has deemed surplus to requirements to leave.

In a significant indication of Rodgers’s influence regardless of speculation about his future, José Enrique, the left back, and Fabio Borini, the forward, have both been told to find themselves new clubs in recent days.

Neither player features in Rodgers’s plans and Liverpool will look to sell the out-of-favour duo, with Borini ready to accept that his time at Anfield is over after rejecting a £14 million transfer to Sunderland last summer to stay and fight for his place.

That decision has backfired. Borini started only three Barclays Premier League games all season despite Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems and Rodgers’s reluctance to use either Rickie Lambert or Mario Balotelli. Similarly, Enrique, who has also had injury problems, has started only twice in the league.

Lambert will be allowed to leave to play regular first-team football, while Balotelli will also be sold if a buyer can be found, having long been written off as a poor acquisition. Brad Jones and Glen Johnson are already in the process of securing moves, with their contracts set to expire in the coming weeks.

The biggest casualty of the cull could be Lazar Markovic, who has struggled to make an impact since joining Liverpool from Benfica in a £20 million deal last summer. Although Liverpool retain confidence in the winger’s talent, there is a concern that he may not be equipped to thrive in English football.

Liverpool continue to work on incoming transfers and deals for Danny Ings and James Milner are understood to be close.

Kolo Touré and Andre Wisdom have both signed contract extensions. Touré has agreed an additional year, with his present deal set to expire next month, while Wisdom, who has spent the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, has committed his future to Liverpool until 2019.

Rodgers remains at the heart of Liverpool’s planning and there is nothing to suggest that the manager’s position is under threat.

Rather than abandoning their managerial structure, in which Rodgers works as part of a transfer committee, the immediate post-season indications are that Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is planning a series of refinements and improvements to the model.

There is no intention to appoint a director of football, but the club’s backroom staff is likely to be bolstered in keeping with FSG’s belief that Rodgers would benefit from greater support.

He's not the worst player to sign but for the price he would cost I don't think it is good value for money and think you can sign much better for a similar fee.

While it is true Benteke is no Carroll and is more mobile (and more able to handle basic instructions) than Balotelli, is he really the best fit?

For £20-25m is he really the best striker a committee of apparent football professionals can find?!

Okay if we want to do a bit of physicality but if he isn't able to play to Coutinho's strengths then he will be wasted for us. He is a good player, potentially can step up a level but for a different style of team.

Why do we insist on repeatedly wasting vast amounts of players from our own league who never pay off?

Also, why the f**k are we leaking this ahead of Villa's biggest game in possibly decades. A move that which, regardless of when we actually submit the bid, is sure to anger them. Imagine if City did this for Sterling and we were playing on Saturday, we'd be furious.

That is hardly going to help in the quest for 'value'

I swear that at this point I am genuinely convinced it's like as a club we are actively trying not to ever be a relevant top club again.

I like Benteke and would love him here but for 15M. Any more than that we can find someone better. We can take 30M and add maybe 5-10M to get a world class striker instead of a good striker.

He's a good player but I worry about his injury record and his suitability to the way we supposedly want to play.
Can't help but think there's better out there especially for the kind of money being quoted.
I'd rather get Dzeko from City if we're talking about a tall striker from the Premier League.

i really dont know if im stuck in 2014 or we are really still being linked with the likes of Benteke, how many of these big strong brute type strikers who play there football at no pressure mid table teams and have a few spells of scoring well?

Benteke, Bony, Cisse, Ba we have been linked to them all, to me it shows a clear lack of ambition and a lack of direction - these strikers do not (along with Ballo) fit in with the style of play we are trying to play.

Being a liverpool fan can feel like a gift and a curse

I really hope this doesn't happen. Whilst I agree that he's a good striker and if we played a system suited to a target man or played them correctly, I would be happy with this (If under 15m), but Rodgers has struggled and struggled to fit target players into the team, he'll play him either as an inside or roaming forward, it'll be another disaster, I just know it

Tony Barrett's piece in the Times:

Liverpool are preparing a bid for Christian Benteke but will not lodge it until after Aston Villa have played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Benteke enters the final two years of his contract at Villa Park this summer and Liverpool are hopeful that an offer of more than £20 million will convince Villa to sell the Belgium forward, who Brendan Rodgers wants to become the new spearhead of his attack.

Rodgers wants to add greater physicality and firepower to Liverpool’s front line and believes that Benteke would provide both qualities, hence the 24-year-old emerging as one of the club’s chief transfer targets before what promises to be another close season of change at Anfield.

Liverpool have also begun the process of overhauling their squad by preparing the way for those players Rodgers has deemed surplus to requirements to leave.

In a significant indication of Rodgers’s influence regardless of speculation about his future, José Enrique, the left back, and Fabio Borini, the forward, have both been told to find themselves new clubs in recent days.

Neither player features in Rodgers’s plans and Liverpool will look to sell the out-of-favour duo, with Borini ready to accept that his time at Anfield is over after rejecting a £14 million transfer to Sunderland last summer to stay and fight for his place.

That decision has backfired. Borini started only three Barclays Premier League games all season despite Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems and Rodgers’s reluctance to use either Rickie Lambert or Mario Balotelli. Similarly, Enrique, who has also had injury problems, has started only twice in the league.

Lambert will be allowed to leave to play regular first-team football, while Balotelli will also be sold if a buyer can be found, having long been written off as a poor acquisition. Brad Jones and Glen Johnson are already in the process of securing moves, with their contracts set to expire in the coming weeks.

The biggest casualty of the cull could be Lazar Markovic, who has struggled to make an impact since joining Liverpool from Benfica in a £20 million deal last summer. Although Liverpool retain confidence in the winger’s talent, there is a concern that he may not be equipped to thrive in English football.

Liverpool continue to work on incoming transfers and deals for Danny Ings and James Milner are understood to be close.

Kolo Touré and Andre Wisdom have both signed contract extensions. Touré has agreed an additional year, with his present deal set to expire next month, while Wisdom, who has spent the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, has committed his future to Liverpool until 2019.

Rodgers remains at the heart of Liverpool’s planning and there is nothing to suggest that the manager’s position is under threat.

Rather than abandoning their managerial structure, in which Rodgers works as part of a transfer committee, the immediate post-season indications are that Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is planning a series of refinements and improvements to the model.

There is no intention to appoint a director of football, but the club’s backroom staff is likely to be bolstered in keeping with FSG’s belief that Rodgers would benefit from greater support.

Another thing I don't get with the ownership

If it's taken that Rodgers is staying but they feel that structurally they need to alter things to 'give him more support' the why are those moves not being made before all the transfer work is being done?
Why seemingly accept it needs changing but not do that first prior to transfers being in motion?

So he needs more help but he can sanction Benteke, Ings and Milner.. And then we make changes and there is nothing more to be spent.
It's not about those players but more the whole situation seems arse about tit

Tony Barrett's piece in the Times:

Liverpool are preparing a bid for Christian Benteke but will not lodge it until after Aston Villa have played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Benteke enters the final two years of his contract at Villa Park this summer and Liverpool are hopeful that an offer of more than £20 million will convince Villa to sell the Belgium forward, who Brendan Rodgers wants to become the new spearhead of his attack.

Rodgers wants to add greater physicality and firepower to Liverpool’s front line and believes that Benteke would provide both qualities, hence the 24-year-old emerging as one of the club’s chief transfer targets before what promises to be another close season of change at Anfield.

Liverpool have also begun the process of overhauling their squad by preparing the way for those players Rodgers has deemed surplus to requirements to leave.

In a significant indication of Rodgers’s influence regardless of speculation about his future, José Enrique, the left back, and Fabio Borini, the forward, have both been told to find themselves new clubs in recent days.

Neither player features in Rodgers’s plans and Liverpool will look to sell the out-of-favour duo, with Borini ready to accept that his time at Anfield is over after rejecting a £14 million transfer to Sunderland last summer to stay and fight for his place.

That decision has backfired. Borini started only three Barclays Premier League games all season despite Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems and Rodgers’s reluctance to use either Rickie Lambert or Mario Balotelli. Similarly, Enrique, who has also had injury problems, has started only twice in the league.

Lambert will be allowed to leave to play regular first-team football, while Balotelli will also be sold if a buyer can be found, having long been written off as a poor acquisition. Brad Jones and Glen Johnson are already in the process of securing moves, with their contracts set to expire in the coming weeks.

The biggest casualty of the cull could be Lazar Markovic, who has struggled to make an impact since joining Liverpool from Benfica in a £20 million deal last summer. Although Liverpool retain confidence in the winger’s talent, there is a concern that he may not be equipped to thrive in English football.

Liverpool continue to work on incoming transfers and deals for Danny Ings and James Milner are understood to be close.

Kolo Touré and Andre Wisdom have both signed contract extensions. Touré has agreed an additional year, with his present deal set to expire next month, while Wisdom, who has spent the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, has committed his future to Liverpool until 2019.

Rodgers remains at the heart of Liverpool’s planning and there is nothing to suggest that the manager’s position is under threat.

Rather than abandoning their managerial structure, in which Rodgers works as part of a transfer committee, the immediate post-season indications are that Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is planning a series of refinements and improvements to the model.

There is no intention to appoint a director of football, but the club’s backroom staff is likely to be bolstered in keeping with FSG’s belief that Rodgers would benefit from greater support.

Why would Markovic be the casualty when Lovren and Moreno struggled even more than he has?

Basically ALL of our signings last summer have been complete gash apart from Lallana and Can.

How can there be any justification in giving Rodgers and the committee any more money or control of transfers?

So we are signing a lump who is mostly offside but works less than Mario.

This club are trying to prove Einsteins madness theory!!

I think he's a good player, in fact there was a time a couple of seasons ago when I quite fancied him here actually. Watching us this season though has changed my mind, how exactly does he fit in here? Yes I know Brendan played with a 'target man' in Danny Graham at Swansea and maybe he's looking to go back to that but we've tried it this season and it's failed spectacularly. Our best performances have come when we've played Raheem up top, we need that type of player (obviously a better finish than Raheem!).

Who's going to supply him as well? It's not really what Coutinho specialises in, he much prefers movement in front of him so he can thread through balls or run into the space that's opened up. Henderson's probably the best crosser in the squad now but he'll be playing centrally (just like Milner will if he signs).

So we are signing a lump who is mostly offside but works less than Mario.

This club are trying to prove Einsteins madness theory!!

Come on mate, Benteke has proved he much better in teh premiership than mad mario, and he puts the effort in.

Also his belgium pals origi & mings, will help him settle in quickly.

My only worry is that they think this is the big big signing we need up front.

It is defo an upgrade on what we have.

I'll happily swim against the current with this one. Benteke is a much, much better footballer that he's being given credit for here; much more than just a target man and (whisper it quietly) far better, right now than Origi, Lambert, Balotelli and Borini.

So we are signing a lump who is mostly offside but works less than Mario.

This club are trying to prove Einsteins madness theory!!

Don't think it's possible to be lazier than Mario mate.

I think he's a good player, in fact there was a time a couple of seasons ago when I quite fancied him here actually. Watching us this season though has changed my mind, how exactly does he fit in here? Yes I know Brendan played with a 'target man' in Danny Graham at Swansea and maybe he's looking to go back to that but we've tried it this season and it's failed spectacularly. Our best performances have come when we've played Raheem up top, we need that type of player (obviously a better finish than Raheem!).

Who's going to supply him as well? It's not really what Coutinho specialises in, he much prefers movement in front of him so he can thread through balls or run into the space that's opened up. Henderson's probably the best crosser in the squad now but he'll be playing centrally (just like Milner will if he signs).

If Henderson is our best crosser of a ball, then we may be in trouble..

Don't think it's possible to be lazier than Mario mate.

Have you seen Benteke play he doesn't run the channels he doesn't press.
In fact why did Rodgers bother getting rid of Carroll if this is his preferred style of play.

Our players can't put a decent corner into the box never mind a decent cross.

Have you seen Benteke play he doesn't run the channels he doesn't press.
In fact why did Rodgers bother getting rid of Carroll if this is his preferred style of play.

Our players can't put a decent corner into the box never mind a decent cross.

Here don't get me wrong I don't want Benteke either. But I would have to dispute him being lazier than Balotelli from the few games I have watched both play in this season.

Benteke scored 2 goals by the end of February in which time he was pressuring and trying to do too much. He then scored 11 goals in 12 games after Sherwood took over because he likes his lone striker to basically stay up front and wait for the ball to come to him. It makes no sense to spend 20m+ on him unless we're going to change our style of play.