There is a whole host of players that could be leaving Selhurst Park this summer at the end of their contracts – striker Christian Benteke being amongst them.
The Belgian forward is edging towards the end of his respective deal, with reports from Turkish outfit Fanatik suggesting that Galatasaray are interested in picking him up on a free transfer.
The Eagles must ensure that does not happen and that Benteke commits to a new contract at Selhurst Park.
After a poor couple of seasons in front of goal in which he scored just six times in all competitions, the former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker appears to have recovered some sort of form during 2020/21.
The Belgian has found the net on five different occasions in the Premier League, with only the mercurial Wilfried Zaha having found the net more.
In fact, Benteke has scored with more regularity this season than in the prior three seasons, scoring a goal every 231 minutes in league play. For context, his scoring rate for the last three seasons stood at one goal every 629, 813 and 745 minutes respectively.
It is form that has seen Eagles boss Roy Hodgson suggest that Benteke has made a statement that the club can still “rely” upon him.
With Palace having scored just 31 goals throughout the current campaign, which is fewer than Brighton and Hove Albion and just three more than Newcastle United, it seems inconceivable that they would let one of their more reliable goalscorers of the current campaign leave for nothing.
Should Benteke be allowed to depart, this would also leave the striking situation at the club looking extremely precarious with the likes of Michy Batshuayi set to return to parent club Chelsea, and Connor Wickham also seeing his contract run down.
That would then leave the Eagles with no choice but to dip into the transfer market to find a replacement for the £8.1m-rated Benteke.
Instead, they could just sign the now 30-year-old to a new contract, eliminating any potential departure to Galatasaray.
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