West Ham tracking Liverpool forward

 

West Ham United are preparing a summer move for Liverpool outcast Christian Benteke, according to The Times, via 101 Great Goals.

 

Benteke, 25, has struggled to make any serious impact since he made the £32.5m move from Aston Villa in the summer and doesn’t appear to have a long-term future under Jurgen Klopp.

 

The Belgium international has been a figure of frustration at times for Liverpool this season and is firmly behind Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge in the pecking order when everyone is fit and unavailable.

 

West Ham’s search for a world-class striker has been well documented in recent months, with Slaven Bilic already preparing for next season by highlighting Benteke and Michy Batshuayi as potential targets at the end of the season.

 

West Ham tracking Liverpool forward

 

Despite his struggles, only Firmino (9) has scored more goals in all competitions for Liverpool this season than Benteke (8) and only three players are winning more aerial duels per game than the strong Belgian (4.8).

 

However, Liverpool find goals much easier to score without Benteke in the starting XI, with the side scoring 2.13 goals per game without him compared to just 0.75 with him in the team.

 

For more stats on Christian Benteke, click here to visit his WhoScored player page