According to The Mirror, Jurgen Klopp has praised Christian Benteke with the Belgian enjoying his switch from Liverpool to Crystal Palace.
It’s safe to say that Liverpool was never going to be an ideal place for Benteke to ply his trade as a powerful striker. It’s not that the former Aston Villa hitman isn’t a capable forward, his Premier League strike rate of 62 goals in 150 games is formidable, it’s just that his style of play contrasts heavily with the way that Jurgen Klopp wants his team to play.
Tomorrow, Klopp will come up against Benteke for the first time since selling him for £30 million in the summer transfer window and the fact that the Belgian poses a significant threat speaks volumes.
“It’s no surprise,” Klopp began after being questioned about Benteke’s goalscoring form this season. The striker has three goals in the Premier League already this season.
“We knew about his qualities. Every player needs the space to develop and show things.
“The move made sense. Palace bought the player. In the last year he always showed his qualities, especially good at heading.”
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There was a lot of media speculation about the nature of Klopp and Benteke’s relationship and it’s now obvious that it was purely professional. Big Ben was a complete pro and other than giving an ill-advised interview where he bad-mouthed Klopp, he kept his head down and worked hard.
Klopp also defended his decision to sell Benteke, with the Belgian leaving Liverpool a year after arriving from Aston Villa for £2.5 million more than he was sold.
“We had to make decisions. I’m always honest. My door is always open. The agreement we have is work hard.”
The decision to sell Benteke and buy Sadio Mane has been vindicated as the Senegal attacker has scored four goals and assisted two others, according to Squawka.com. There isn’t space in Liverpool’s fluid front line for Daniel Sturridge, let alone a static Christian Benteke.
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