Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge has been sharing his thoughts on Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke and his future at Selhurst Park.
This comes after Bridge recently made an appearance on the latest episode of The Sky Sports Football Podcast where he spoke about Roy Hodgson’s side including their upcoming Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
On the subject of Benteke and his future at the south London club, Bridge had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I would expect him to maybe move on in the summer, but he’s done a good service there. He’s still got plenty of football to be played and I’m sure he’ll be highly involved – [Jean-Philippe] Mateta isn’t a nailed-down starter yet, [Michy] Batshuayi hasn’t been at all, all season, so he’ll probably go back to Chelsea after his loan spell.
“So there’s plenty of time for Benteke to still be a Palace hero in the last few months.”
Palace signed Benteke back in 2016 from fellow Premier League side Liverpool for a fee of £28.08 million.
Since then, the 30-year-old, who is currently valued at £8.1 million, has made 136 appearances for Roy Hodgson’s side in which he has managed to score 27 goals and provide 11 assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Michael Bridge’s comments on Benteke…
Despite only managing to score four goals in the Premier League so far this season, Benteke is arguably still one of Palace’s standout performers with a season rating of 6.78/10, making him their fourth-highest rated player at this moment in time (per WhoScored).
In regards to Bridge’s comment saying that he expects the Belgian to leave Palace during the upcoming summer transfer window, it will be down to the club and the player on what they want to happen.
Would you offer Benteke a new deal this summer?
Yes
No
With Benteke’s current contract at Selhurst Park set to expire at the end of June, it will be interesting to see what happens with the striker and his future.
In our view, Benteke has shown enough this season on the pitch that he should be offered a new deal at the club if he wants to stay, but what seems clear is that something has got to give in the coming months.