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“I don’t want to leave like a thief.”
These were the words of Christian Benteke amid concrete interest in his services from China back in the summer, with the Belgian striker determined to stay at Crystal Palace and put his terrible form right.
In making this decision, however, Benteke has placed the Eagles in a position they should now rue, and even more so after his last outing against Wolves.
The former Aston Villa and Liverpool man had the chance to secure all three points against Wolves when one on one with Rui Patricio, but he delayed his shot for what seemed like an age before firing straight at the Portugal international. Diogo Jota’s late equaliser just moments later underlined quite how detrimental his ineffectiveness in front of goal is proving to be.
When the full-time whistle sounded, it signalled Benteke’s 57th game in all competitions since his 17-goal campaign back in the 2016/17 season.
In those 57 games since, he has just four goals.
We recently argued that Roy Hodgson’s arrival and the subsequent decrease in the number of crosses going into the box have contributed to Benteke’s downfall.
Whether one is inclined to agree with the compelling case or not is a matter of personal opinion, but one thing is for certain: the Eagles should be ruing the forward’s summer decision under the circumstances.
Benteke told Walfoot about his plans to stay in England and spurn the Chinese Super League’s advances back in the summer, although the decision – amid his contract situation – makes the dilemma even worse.
“After a good season, the last two have been very complicated. I still have a contract at Crystal Palace and I plan on honouring it.
“The club have been very correct with me and I don’t want to leave like a thief. China has never been an option.
“The Premier League is my dream and I still want to live it.”
You cannot begrudge the 28-year-old for making such a decision, but it isn’t ideal.
Benteke’s contract expires in less than 12 months, leaving Palace looking likely to lose an attacker who cost the club £27m for nothing, unless they hand him a contract extension, which of course would not be a unanimously popular decision.
Should the south Londoners extend Benteke’s deal, they would still have to pay a significant wage if his current salary of £130k-a-week is any indication of his financial expectations.
Four goals in 57 is unacceptable. It is unacceptable for a striker who cost £1m, let alone one who cost 27 times that.
If he had been inclined to accept Shandong Luneng Taishan’s offer worth £15m to Palace and £8m-a-year to the striker himself, then the Eagles would have been able to offload a misfiring player who has been bleeding them of their resources ever since the conclusion of an impressive debut season.
His departure, in turn, would have also handed the Eagles’ transfer kitty a boost, funds which don’t seem to be there at the present moment – much to Hodgson’s envy of sides around him.
As aforesaid, you can’t begrudge Benteke for choosing to stay in London – he is being paid well and also has a young family to focus on.
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From a footballing perspective over a personal one, though, the Belgium international’s decision is looking to be a real problem for Palace given what they could have had if he accepted the proposal.
Money in the bank and an unjustly lucrative earner off the wage bill.
Contrastingly, the Eagles now look to be stuck with a man whose confidence in front of goal is on the floor, and one who will see them record a huge loss on their record signing given his contract situation.
Undoubtedly, Palace have been made to rue Benteke’s rejection of his £15m summer opportunity and, judging by the early openings of the season, it looks like he will be leaving as a thief after all.