Misfit or final piece of jigsaw?
ASSUMING Christian Benteke has not done ‘a Fabian Delph’ overnight, Liverpool’s summer spending ought to be over and the squad complete bar the removal of some expensive bits of dead wood.
The Reds were first out of the blocks, made most of the running and have even stepped up the pace. For a transfer committee, it has been unusually decisive and generally wellreceived, making their rivals look ponderous in comparison. But it has also had a tinge of panic.
The Benteke deal is the biggest and most contentious, and was only made after the coffers had been replenished with the Raheem Sterling money. A hopeful lower bid had already been turned down and that looked to be that until Manchester City came again for Sterling. That hesitation was the only time it looked as if a committee were operating.
If Benteke was always Brendan Rodgers’ No.1 target, why were seven players signed before him? And if Sterling had not been sold, would the manager have been content to soldier on without his first choice? And without anyone on the books who can hit a barn door from three paces?
Liverpool fans appear divided over the deal and well they might. Debate is raging over whether the Belgian is the last piece of the jig-saw or the latest misfit waiting to happen, and you do not need an elephantine memory to belong to the pessimists.
The sales of Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and now Sterling have raked in £174 million for the club (minus £9m for QPR) but the bulk of that cash has gone on nobodies and never-willbe’s. And for some, the similarities between Benteke and Andy Carroll are already causing nightmares.
Both are tall target men who can head a ball and cost north of £30m, but there the similarities end. Benteke has an almost one-in-two scoring record (42/88) in a lowly team whereas Carroll managed six in 44 at Liverpool in a better side than Villa. Benteke has also made a full recovery from one major injury where Carroll seems permanently lame.
However you look at it, the Belgian looks better value than Carroll but will he fit in? And here begins another debate. His strength is in the air but Liverpool play mostly on the ground and are no longer blessed with great crossers of a ball (although we haven’t yet seen Roberto Firmino). Last season, Liverpool attempted fewer crosses than any club in the Premier League.
Slick, intricate passing is the Rodgers style and it is hard to see the ex-Villa man being the perfect fulcrum of an attack based on this method. What he will provide is physical presence which is something else the Reds are sorely lacking, but will that be enough?
Players of Benteke’s ilk need wingers to be able to thrive and Liverpool tend to play rather narrowly with wide men cutting inside. So the question is: will Rodgers adapt the style to suit his most expensive purchase or will he expect Benteke to adapt?
Elsewhere, there are positive signs with Jordan Ibe having the potential for fans to soon be asking ‘Raheem Who?’ The youngster is a more robust and direct version of his predecessor and this could be the season he comes of age.
Joe Gonzalez is showing well in the pre-season tour and could make the left-back position his own just as Nathan Clyne will bring more solidity to the right side. But the centre of defence has been left alone – an almighty risk based on last season’s performances.
James Milner is about as good a free transfer as you can get and should offset the loss of Steven Gerrard a little although too much may be expected of Jordan Henderson. Sorry to say it, but Danny Ings may be another Rickie Lambert who, along with the similarly non-scoring Fabio Borini, is likely to be off-loaded.
All this is presupposing Mario Balotelli is a write-off and Daniel Sturridge will be working his way back. With Divock Origi making little impact at Lille last season, you begin to see why they gambled on Benteke. Not to have signed him would have been akin to building a house and forgetting the roof.
Having given the manager the benefit of the doubt at the end of last season, the owners could hardly spend big yet still leave his squad incomplete. It is a brave decision and Liverpool’s
season and Rodgers’ future may rest on it. Once Benteke has passed his medical and signed, unlike Delph, there can be no turning back.