Juventus eye Liverpool striker

Serie A giants Juventus are closely monitoring Liverpool striker Christian Benteke as a potential replacement for Alvaro Morata

Club officials at Juventus understand that striker Alvaro Morata will likely be playing elsewhere next season. Liverpool striker Christian Benteke is one of several forwards the club is considering as his potential replacement.

Frankly, many Liverpool supporters would be willing to pack the Belgian striker’s belongings for him if their beloved club could be rid of him. He’s been a considerable flop at Anfield since his big-money move from Aston Villa.

Still, it was only the season before that when Benteke was one of the most difficult front men in the Premier League to deal with. One need only look at where Aston Villa went after his departure to see proof of his importance to his former club.

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That’s why Juventus have an interest in Benteke, along with countrymen Michy Batshuayi and Romelu Lukaku. You’d have to think that Benteke is their third choice out of that trio, but he would also be the striker carrying the smallest price tag. Both Lukaku and Batshuayi are expected to command huge transfer fees this summer.

The vast price difference between the three strikers might be enough to make Benteke the most cost-efficient buy. He’s certainly lacking in confidence after his nightmare time at Liverpool, but it’s hard to believe he’s lost all of the ability that once made him one of the most feared forwards in England. If Juventus were able to restore his confidence, he might be able to strike the same sort of fear in Serie A opponents as well.

Just imagine the challenge of having to deal with an in-form Benteke up-top, and the physically dominant Paul Pogba running off his hold-up play. That could be an absolute nightmare for opposing defenders. The combination of Benteke’s bulk, and Pogba’s explosiveness could be downright unfair.

Of course, Liverpool fans would argue that Benteke is something of a mental midget. He frequently managed to miss shockingly easy chances at Anfield and he became unplayable by season’s end. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp tried everything he could to get Benteke going, but ultimately resorted to playing Roberto Firmino, an attacking midfielder, as his striker down the stretch instead.

Christian Benteke beginning next season as Juventus’ first-choice striker certainly isn’t the most probable outcome, but it could certainly happen. It would be a tremendous gamble by the Old Lady on an immense Premier League reclamation project.