Axe man: Benteke has paid the price for some static showings up front

Report: Liverpool braced for new £30m bid, player is expecting transfer

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Published on:

30 Jun 2016, 5:15 pm

By Alex Stevens

Crystal Palace are preparing a formal bid for Liverpool striker Christian Benteke, according to a report.

The south Londoners have been installed as odds-on favourites to land the Belgium international following a spate of heavy bets on Wednesday.

Indeed, SkyBet consider Benteke to be 32 times more likely to be at Palace than at Liverpool next season.

The Guardian now claim that Palace will table an offer for the striker as Liverpool hold out for a fee of over £30million.

It is said that Benteke accepts his time on Merseyside will be limited to a season and that he will change clubs this summer.

Manager Alan Pardew is looking for striker reinforcements after giving the green light for Dwight Gayle to complete a £10million move to Newcastle.

Palace had a sensational £32million bid for Michy Batshuayi accepted by Marseille on Monday night but the player stalled and Chelsea then hijacked the move on Tuesday to agree the terms of a £33m transfer.

Benteke is set to be the next big-name striker on the hit list of Palace as they attempt to beat London rivals West Ham to his signature.

The 25-year-old is likely to start next season behind Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge in the striker pecking order and could also be behind Danny Ings if he returns to full fitness after missing most of the 2015-16 season.

Liverpool signed Benteke for £32.5million last summer and he responded with a creditable 10 goals but was on the fringes of the team for the second half of the season.

In other Liverpool transfer news, a highly rated Italian based striker set to snub move to Anfield club and move back to Spain.

Liverpool FC

Crystal Palace

Christian Benteke