‘Jurgen Klopp has indicated that Christian Benteke could be set to leave Liverpool before their season opener at Arsenal.
Klopp was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s International Champions Cup clash with Barcelona at Wembley tomorrow, and the former Dortmund coach stated that Benteke leaving could be for the best.
“Maybe it makes sense for him to go to another club.”
Liverpool are believed to have rejected a £32m bid for Benteke from Crystal Palace earlier this summer, however Klopp stated that any offer for any of his players will have to meet his valuation.
“If they want players, then they need to make real offers. If there is a real offer then we can consider it.”
Benteke was signed for Liverpool by Brendan Rodgers in July 2015 for £32.5m, however his time at Anfield has yielded just nine Premier League goals and his departure appears almost inevitable.
Liverpool have endured an inconsistent pre-season campaign, winning four games, however defeats to Chelsea and AS Roma have been the cause of frustration for Klopp.
“My expectations for pre-season are high and I want it to be perfect. I am not happy, and we still have work to do, for some players pre-season will continue into the season.”
Injuries and the extended break for those who participated at EURO 2016 has disrupted preparations and Klopp acknowledged that some face a race against time for the Arsenal game.
“We have players that are in different physical situations, as some players have had five and a half weeks of pre-season. My door is open on the line-up for Arsenal and we hope to have more than 18 players available.”
With Mamadou Sakho, Joe Gomez and Lucas Leiva all likely to miss the start of the season through injury, Klopp added that the Reds could look to strengthen their defensive options before their first game.
“We always have to be ready on the buying and selling side. We have a situation at centre half with some injury problems, and until the first game maybe things can happen.”