With West Ham’s club record signing Sebastien Haller having officially left the London Stadium to join Ajax, one source has tipped the Irons to raid a fellow London club for a similar type of hitman.
Crystal Palace’s 6 foot 2 striker Christian Benteke, who is out of contract in the summer, has been cited by reliable club insider Claret & Hugh as being on David Moyes’ shortlist of possible replacements for the Ivorian.
Valued at £8m by Transfermarkt, the 30-year-old Belgian has scored 75 times in the Premier League between spells at Aston Villa and Liverpool as well as the Eagles, and he would come with a wealth of experience as an replacement for Haller.
However, Benteke has struggled for form throughout most of his Palace career. He has only scored 26 times in more than 120 appearances for the Eagles but has enjoyed a much-improved goal return as of late, with three goals in his last six matches, including a powerful header in his team’s 1-1 draw at the London Stadium last month.
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Although he could be available quite cheaply, Benteke presents a lot of risk as a potential signing for West Ham. He retains little in the way of resale value given his age, and his poor goalscoring return in recent years should be a cause for concern.
Despite looking a little more confident in recent fixtures, Benteke would be more likely to be a distinct deputy to Michail Antonio if he comes to the Irons. It is hard to see how he would fit into any kind of long-term transfer strategy and West Ham would be better off focusing on other targets.
