Christian Benteke has accused Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp of consistently ignoring him.
The future of the Belgian international is under doubt following poor performances ever since his £ 30 million move to Anfield in the summer. Benteke was a regular scorer at Aston Villa, but many were sceptical about the possibility of his success at Merseyside. After all, he was similar in playing style to Andy Carroll and the former Newcastle man did not succeed. The critics have been proven right with Benteke managing less than 10 goals in 33 appearances for the club.
Klopp never seems to have warmed up to the striker. Benteke has managed to start only five of the 16 games that Klopp has managed. It is a lot about the manager’s interest in the forward. Liverpool will be ready to cut their losses in the summer and sell him for around £ 20 million with West Ham being rumoured to be a potential destination. Benteke revealed that he came close to leaving the club in January, but chose to stay and fight for his place. His miss against Southampton in the 3-2 loss has only angered Klopp even more. Benteke is now unlikely to start reminder of the campaign even if he manages to impress the boss in training.
“Some team-mates have said I was lucky with the arrival of Klopp, because I certainly would play. When your coach says he wanted to take you to Dortmund and a little later you sit at the same club and he ignores you it is hard to understand. I find it bizarre, I do not understand why people say that. I can play pressing and moving a lot. It is not that we play in the Barcelona style,” said Benteke about criticisms of the style of play. Daniel Sturridge has been the preferred choice of front under Klopp.