Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke can count on interest from two Belgian sides this summer should he leave Selhurst Park.
That’s according to Voetbalkrant, who say that Club Brugge and Antwerp are both keen on bringing him back to his homeland.
They report that both clubs ‘would like to hire’ the striker, but a potential deal is ‘complicated’ as Crystal Palace would prefer to sell him outright. The website does not say how much they want for him.
‘At best’ they would like to include a purchase option if they were to sanction a loan deal, but this would exclude Antwerp from any move as they don’t have the financial means to take him permanently.
Another problem is that Palace would like to strengthen before sanctioning any deal for Benteke too, particularly as Wilfried Zaha could potentially be leaving too.
Voetbalkrant say they have their eye on Watford’s Ismaïla Sarr and Romanian Florinel Coman first and would want those deals over the line.
That would give Crystal Palace the numbers they need upfront to cover Benteke leaving, although it also isn’t mentioned whether he would be keen on a return to Belgium.
Antwerp may be an attractive option given they can offer him Europa League football, although at 29 years of age, he may think he has more years in a higher division first.
For the moment his focus will be on other things anyway, with a report today revealing he’s set to open a tea room in London.
