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Christian Benteke, brought in during the summer transfer window for a staggering £32.5m, could be headed to West Ham. Rumors have been reported that Slaven Bilic is interested in acquiring Benteke's considerable talents for next season. However, a potential stumbling block would be the player's high wages. He currently sits on £120,000/week at Liverpool, and West Ham reportedly wouldn't offer more than £80,000/week for his services.
The Hammers will be seeing quite a bit of movement and activity in the transfer market this summer as they prepare for their move to the Olympic Stadium. In the recent past, West Ham have added out-of-favor Liverpool players Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing to their ranks, and the stage may be set for another similar deal. Before landing in Liverpool, Benteke was a prolific goalscorer for Aston Villa, and West Ham would be hoping to see the same kind of output from him under their system.
The Belgian striker was part of a concerted effort by Liverpool and FSG to enhance the team's firepower after a lackluster 2014-2015 campaign. However, he has fallen out of favor of new manager Jurgen Klopp, and now finds himself below Daniel Sturridge and his fellow countryman, Divock Origi, in the pecking order. At 25-years-old, he needs to be playing consistent football in order to retain his position with for his country. The European Championship finals are coming this summer, and Benteke's place on the Belgium team is far from secure.
Klopp has challenged the player to fight for his position and earn back his trust but has been given him few opportunities to do so, with Sturridge back to full fitness and Divock Origi coming into form. Additionally, Liverpool have the return of Danny Ings in the summer to strengthen their numbers in attack, once he recovers from the ACL injury that has kept him out of contention for the majority of this season.
While West Ham may not be Benteke's ultimate destination, there still remains a strong chance that the player will leave in the next transfer window to find more playing time elsewhere.