In the face of speculation that their star striker would move during the summer window, a team that’s battled relegation for successive seasons has attempted to hold on to their contracted star. Now the standoff has reached a new level, with the young star handing in a transfer request, though it’s unclear the extent to which the club will honor it.
Keep that on file, swap in some proper nouns, and you’re not only well on your way to having your own transfer rumor blog – you’re also up-to-date on the latest Christian Benteke rumors. The Aston Villa striker, who scored 19 times in his Premier League debut, is said to have thought Villa was a London-based club when he initially moved from Genk last summer. Whether that anecdote’s apocryphal, it’s no surprise a 22-year-old Champions League-caliber talent wants to move to a Champions League-caliber team.
Benteke is said to have handed in his official request today. What exactly that formality means as it concerns compelling either side to action, I’m not sure anymore, but bere’s the club’s statement on the news, including speculation Benteke has refused to join the team for preseason preparations:
“In response to reports that Christian Benteke has not travelled to Germany with the club and has made a transfer request, we can confirm that both are accurate.
“For clarity’s sake, however, he had already been given extra time off until July 18 and was reminded that there are three years remaining on his contract.
“We consider him to be a Villa player and expect that he will be with us for the 2013-14 season.
“Having received his transfer request, we have also informed him that should we receive an offer within an appropriate timeframe during pre-season which meets our valuation we would act upon it. But he will remain a Villa player should this not happen.”
The biggest link has been to Tottenham Hotspur, where manager André Villas-Boas is said to covet the Belgian international, but while Spurs’ need for strikers may be greater than England’s other top four contenders, they’re not the only club that could use Benteke. If the interminable Gonzalo Higuaín transfer doesn’t end in Arsenal’s favor, the Gunners could be in the market. Chelsea and Manchester City both have too much money and too few quality striking options to not consider the Villa star. Even Manchester United could justify a move in terms of an upgrade over their current options, but if there’s one team that has enough current options, it’s the Red Devils.
So if Aston Villa really have a $37 million evaluation on their best attacker, it’s not impossible the pure market demand could see that price met, even if the availability of players like Higuaín, Roberto Soldado, Álvaro Negredo, and Luis Suárez creates a lot of supply. The bigger question is whether Villa would be willing to move off that price in the interest of resolving this quickly, acquiring another striker, and attempting to start the new season with as few conflicts as possible.
Manager Paul Lambert:
“While we’re hugely disappointed that Christian has put in a transfer request, it’s important that people appreciate we are trying to build something strong and vibrant here at the club, something this club demands and stands for, and we want Christian to be part of that.”
That sounds about right. Of course he’s not happy with the request — nobody wants their best player to leave — but for a club that’s trying to build into a new direction, one that leaves the post-Martin O’Neill descent in the past, there’s no room for people who aren’t on board. It’s just a shame Benteke may have never been truly on board.
