Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is rolling an expensive dice on Christian Benteke
It seems odd that having attracted the likes of Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez to Anfield in recent years that Liverpool’s record transfer fee remains the £35 million paid out to Newcastle for Andy Carroll in 2011.
The £20 million loss suffered through his sale to West Ham one and a half barren years later provides the premise of the cautionary tale on the red half of Merseyside that tells of how easily vast sums of cash can be squandered.
Signing Christian Benteke’s after activating his £32.5 million release clause won’t quite trump the eye-watering amount shelled out for Carroll, but it will summon the same feeling of trepidation. Liverpool have been thrusted into bidding for the Aston Villa striker after concerns grew that Manchester United were interested, rumours that have since been dismissed as false.
The feeling at Anfield, however, is that they can’t afford to repeat the hesitancy of last summer that saw them miss out on a series of targets before having to settle on Mario Balotelli. Action this time around has been swift, with Danny Ings, Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez, Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner all already brought in and Benteke will take that spending past £60 million.
The sale of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City has recouped around £40 million (part of his transfer fee went to QPR) but this level of spending, after the £106 million they spent last year saw them stumble home in 6th and eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage, is a tremendous show of faith in manager Brendan Rodgers.
He will be aware that if his transfers, made with the aid of the club’s transfer committee, fail again he may not be in position to defend himself at an end of season inquiry. Given the sums involved then, Benteke is one deal Rodgers simply has to get right, so there will be particular intrigue into whether the Belgian will be worth the risk.
What Benteke’s move means for Liverpool
Rodgers will now find himself with a swollen glut of strikers to choose from and in a preferred system that usually favours one up front, he may have to prepare himself to make some difficult decisions. Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert and Balotelli are likely to be offloaded, leaving Ings as the main challenger to Benteke once his tribunal fee is agreed with Burnley.
Divock Origi, returning from a season-long loan at Lille where he managed 9 goals from 44 games, partnered Ings in the pre-season friendly with Brisbane Roar so Rodgers may be thinking of shifting to a front pairing.
Whether that will be the plan B option to Rodgers’s favoured 4-2-3-1 system that will have Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho either side of the central attacker, the inexperience of the 20-year-old Origi means he will probably have to play second fiddle to his senior countryman.
Daniel Sturridge, who was so prolific alongside Luis Suarez as Liverpool narrowly missed out on the Premier League title in 2013/14 but started just 12 times last term as he struggled with chronic hamstring and thigh problems, is not due to return from hip surgery until at least September.
While Rodgers will not be quite ready to give up on the Englishman just yet, the arrival of Benteke will move him down the pecking order. In that case, Sturridge’s versatility is likely to be beneficial to Rodgers who can use him as a right-winger with instruction to cut inside, a scenario made possible by the addition of Clyne’s energy from right-back.
The absence of Sturridge was a contributing factor behind the lack of goals that cost Liverpool dearly last season as, when partnered with Suarez’s departure to Barcelona, saw them cut down from the 101 goals scored in the pulsating year of 13/14 to just 52 last term.
Captain Steven Gerrard was top scorer with 14 from his position of central midfield and Sterling was second with 13. With Gerrard off to see out his career in Los Angeles and Sterling’s time at Anfield abruptly over, it left Rodgers with a goalscoring void that Benteke’s record of 42 goals from 88 games with Aston Villa will certainly help to fill.
Depending on whether the 24-year-old can adapt and receive the service, of course.
How and where will Benteke fit in at his new club?
Rodgers’s natural enthusiasm for altering formations will enjoy having Benteke on board but whether the Belgian becomes a success will depend on whether he gets the service from the supporting cast.
The manager will also find selection tough in areas around the striker as he has Jordan Ibe, Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic available as well as the Brazilian duo of Coutinho and Firmino.
However, they should all be adept enough at supplying the Belgian with balls he can thrive off in a similar vein to how Jack Grealish, Charles N’Zogbia and Leandro Bacuna did at Villa.
Furthermore, Benteke’s strength and impressive mobility will keep opposition defenders occupied as space becomes free for other attackers to move into. Gabriel Agbonlahor’s searing pace was a beneficiary of this at Villa Park and should Rodgers, who has plenty of quick players in his arsenal, find himself relying on a more direct approach next season he will be comforted by Benteke’s qualities as a focal point.
A move to a 3-5-2 as Rodgers often did last term will suit Benteke as he often spearheaded that system at Villa. The use of wing-backs will supply the Belgian with long, sweeping balls from deeper positions that he can attack (his goal for Villa against Spurs last season) or knock down for his team-mates to latch on to.
The Belgian will offer Rodgers a refreshing alternative in a squad whose play often looked predictable and laboured last season and his play can be adapted into whichever approach Rodgers chooses.
For instance Benteke’s understated technical ability and speed of touch can suit the intricate moves that occur around the box while his strength and muscular physique, plus his remarkable ability in the air, will give Liverpool a direct route should they find themselves pressured high up the field. Also, his aerial prowess will help them solve the set-piece defending problems that dogged them last term.
What the future holds for player and Liverpool
Benteke’s price-tag may put added pressure on the striker but if he can replicate the same dynamic quality that bent a stunning strike past David De Gea at home to Manchester United or secured a point against QPR with an irresistible hat-trick, he will win fans over very quickly.
His new coach’s renowned man-management abilities will help to avoid the spell of 1 goal in 13 games that Benteke endured for Villa this term though that was more down to the lethargy of Paul Lambert’s team than it was to do with the Belgian’s talent.
He finished the season strongly with 8 goals in his last 8 games under the more offensive Tim Sherwood and with the attacking quality on offer at Liverpool, Benteke should thrive once again.
Or at least Rodgers and his transfer committee will hope so. Benteke has greater pedigree than Carroll had when he moved from Tyneside and has a higher work-rate than Balotelli. Liverpool simply can’t afford a repeat of those two.
EDIT: This article was updated after Benteke was signed by Liverpool