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Let's just get straight to the meat of the matter, eh?
Christian #Benteke only wants to join Spurs. Liverpool made an enquiry, but he told them he wasn't interested. #LFC #AVFC #CFC
— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) July 9, 2013
While the news is certainly disheartening, it probably doesn't fall in to the realm of true surprise. Benteke wants to raise his profile to cement his place in Belgium's World Cup bid for next summer, and Tottenham is a team in the rise in England. Liverpool, as much as it pains me to admit it, is not.
Christian Benteke is a great striker, and one with such a well-rounded profile would have been fantastic to see leading the line in a red shirt. But with Liverpool's star on the wane in recent years, Tottenham has apparently become the more attractive prospect for a player like him. There are questions as to how he'd fit in to their strike force, with both Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe under contract with the Spurs, but transfer rumors have swirled around both players, most notably Stoke recently showing interest in Defoe.
Given Tottenham's issues with consistent scoring in the non-Gareth Bale division of their roster, it makes sense that they'd show an interest in Benteke. He shocked many in his debut season with Aston Villa, given that he was thought to need more time to adjust to the rigors of the English game than he did. In the end, his 19 league goals outpaced the combined output of Defoe and Adebayor, who totalled only 16 between them.
While it would have been wonderful to have a striker of his quality in the squad given the opportunity, Liverpool has bigger fish to fry in the squad. We'll just have to hope that the next time time a player like him comes available, Liverpool is on the list of teams he'll play for.