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Liverpool must sell Christian Benteke before it’s too late

By Rucker Haringey

Jul 30, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Liverpool FC fans cheer before a game between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 30, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Liverpool FC fans cheer before a game between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Trouble is brewing between Liverpool striker Christian Benteke and Jurgen Klopp

Sometimes a really good player just doesn’t fit the system his manager wants to play. This is the reality at Liverpool for striker Christian Benteke and manager Jurgen Klopp. Blame for the friction between the two rests with each man, but the only logical solution is for Liverpool to sell Benteke at its earliest opportunity.

I’d recommend moving him in the January transfer window. Savvy Premier League scouts saw the lack of fit between Benteke and Klopp coming a mile away. Still, there was some optimism that Klopp could manage to find a way to get the best out of his Belgian warhorse. Now it’s clear that the marriage just isn’t working out.

So far the discord between the two men has been, at least in public, reasonably respectful. The two traded public comments about one another this week in the aftermath of Klopp’s decision to leave a fit Benteke on the bench in the loss to Watford. The German manager said he decided to leave Benteke on the bench as a tactical decision and it was up to the player to change that. Benteke, for his part, said he certainly wanted to play but he “respected” Klopp’s decision.

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This harmony isn’t going to last long. If Klopp continues to make the decision to leave Benteke on the bench the relationship is going to become more and more strained as time goes by. Once word of a bad relationship between the two reaches the public Benteke’s transfer price drops like a stone. That’s why Liverpool needs to act now while they can still get a hefty transfer fee.

The reason Benteke isn’t playing has nothing to do with his talent. He’s still the same top-class striker that showed off terrific form a few seasons ago at Aston Villa. He’s just the wrong striker to fit Klopp’s system. There are still numerous Premier League clubs that should be willing to pay top dollar for the Belgian international. Liverpool’s transfer committee should be quite open to those phone calls from other club’s at the moment.

At the moment, they can still reasonably claim that they intend to fit Benteke into Klopp’s system in some manner. Most other clubs won’t really believe this nonsense, but it’s at least a defensible claim. Right now, they can tell people that Benteke and Klopp will get along with a straight face. If they wait much longer they’ll be no way to spin that theory to other clubs. If they lose that plausible theory they lose all of their leverage.

Liverpool has already managed to lose some of their leverage in potential Benteke negotiations, but they’ve retained most of it. If they’re smart, they’ll make the shocking move to sell Benteke while his value is still at its relative peak.

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