The Belgian striker has finally signed for Liverpool
It’s done; the club has finally tied down a striker who, if you believe everything you read, has been Brendan Rodgers’ main target since this time last year: Christian Benteke.
The big Belgian striker, affectionately referred to by Reds fans recently as ‘big Ben’, signed for Liverpool last night in a huge £32.5 million deal and becomes the club’s second most expensive signing, usurping this summer’s other big signing, Roberto Firmino.
In his first interview for the club, Benteke told Liverpoolfc.com: “I know Liverpool is a big story. They’ve won [many] league titles and the Champions League five times and of course the UEFA Cup and a lot of trophies. I know it’s a big club.
“I think there are quality players, a lot of good players with big names of course. I’m happy to be part of this team and will [try] to help this team reach its goals.”
Benteke joins the club in another transition period, and will bring goals to a side that struggled badly to put the ball away many times last season. The Belgian striker may not be everybody’s cup of tea but his record in the Premier League is highly impressive, with 49 goals in just over 100 games for a club that has battled against relegation in recent seasons.
With Liverpool spending big this summer, along with a number of players signed last summer expected to show much more this season, the pressure of Benteke should not be so intense but goals will go a long way to making him a fast fan favourite and his aim is to win trophies.
He continued: “I came here to win trophies. I came here to reach some great goals with the team.
“It’s about winning trophies. It’s about doing something in [my] career I can maybe explain to my son or my kids what I did.
“There’s a lot of feelings. I want first to meet my new teammates and I want to work with the manager and his staff.
“I’m very happy to be part of the Liverpool family now and I will do everything to make them happy and work hard for them and my teammates.”
Have a look at a short clip of the interview below:
I see ben given us the much needed goals we need.
i see him scoring over fifteen goals in his liverpool debut season with the likes of coutinho, firmino togeda with power house like milner nd henderson. i see him prove doubters wrong.
He is a big boost. The problem is that our manager is heavily deficient technically & tactically. A good coach could have taken us to top four last season.