Our search for an emergency striker in January took us to some deep, dark corners of the transfer market.
According to a new revelation, we went after a striker who has five goals in his last 67 Premier League matches.
What is worse, we were apparently rejected by a striker who has five goals in his last 67 Premier League matches.
Christian Benteke told Belgian publication La Meuse, via Football London, that he was the subject of interest from Tottenham, and former club Aston Villa, in January but decided to stay at Crystal Palace.
The 29-year-old justified why he would have been on our radar despite his poor scoring record over recent seasons.
“I take the interest of both those clubs as recognition,” Benteke said, who signed a new contract at Palace earlier this campaign.
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“Here, people are decent: they know you’re a good player, that you can bring something extra. Everyone goes through complicated moments without it putting their value in doubt. In England, all the parameters are taken into consideration, which goes beyond the number of goals scored. The number of aerial duels won is where I’m quite good. The pressure I put on the opposition defense, playing with my back to goal, the player’s professionalism, how he fits in a system: all that comes into play, starting from the principle that a player’s quality doesn’t evaporate.”
As depressing as it would have been to stoop to this level, Benteke’s salesmanship here does explain why Jose Mourinho may have wanted the target man as short-term cover for Harry Kane.
Hopefully, our interest in Benteke has now ended. It should have in 2015.
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