Liverpool: £30m man heading out; Spurs ahead in Götze chase; youngster to leave

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Liverpool’s transfer window has been a busy one thus far, with four new players being added to the squad and their inspirational manager being tied down to a six-year deal. Inevitably though, new arrivals and a reduced fixture list thanks to a lack of European football will lead to exits from the squad, and striker Christian Benteke looks set to join the outgoing list.

Benteke; who was signed from Aston Villa for £32.5 million just last summer, struggled in his debut season at the club, scoring just nine times in a season interrupted by minor injuries and a failure to adapt to Jurgen Klopp’s high pressing style.

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The Belgian has now reportedly agreed personal terms with London club Crystal Palace, although a bid for the striker has yet to be accepted by the Reds, in spite of the Eagles offering in excess of £30 million for the misfiring forward.

The deal will not be done until Benteke returns from his post-Euros holiday, but the agreement of personal terms suggests that it will not be much longer before he departs the club. With five other decent striking options available for Klopp, all of whom fit in with the system much better than Benteke, it would be wise for Liverpool to take Palace’s money so player and club can both move on from this sadly failed experiment.

In other departure news, 20-year-old winger Jordon Ibe appears to be close to exiting the club, having commenced talks with Bournemouth over a £15 million transfer. The England under-21 winger struggled last season to break into Klopp’s starting eleven, and the signing of Sadio Mane, coupled with the return from loan of Lazar Markovic appear to have cut his chances even further.

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Although Ibe is still an exciting prospect, and should not be lambasted for a poor season when his best years are still way ahead of him, a move to Bournemouth would certainly give him the opportunity for his career to progress and give him some regular football. Liverpool are keen to negotiate buy back and sell on clauses for the youngster, which is a very sensible move by the club’s owners.

At £15 million, Liverpool are receiving fantastic money for an unproven player, and with the option to get him back from Bournemouth should he progress sufficiently, his sale could be an excellent piece of business.

Finally, Liverpool’s pursuit of Germany star Mario Götze appears to be over, with Jurgen Klopp satisfied he has enough attacking talent at his disposal for the upcoming season.

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Although a reunion with former manager Klopp was an option for the German earlier in the summer, it now appears that Götze will either be returning to Dortmund, who are now managed by Thomas Tuchel, or heading to White Hart Lane and joining Tottenham Hotspur if he is to leave the Allianz Arena.

Whilst players of the quality of Götze do not come onto the transfer market every day, and the mooted fee of £20 million would be a relative snip, the signing of Mane has given Klopp enough attacking options for the season. With the Senegalese linking up with Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic and the youngster Sheyi Ojo, it is hard to disagree with the sentiment that Götze is not a necessity for the club.

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