Man Utd To Hijack Liverpool’s Striker Move By Triggering £32.5m Release Clause

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Man Utd close-in on Christian Benteke….

Manchester United are set to hijack Liverpool’s move for Christian Benteke by agreeing to meet the Aston Villa strikers £32.5m release clause, reports the Telegraph.

Benteke has been strongly linked with a move to Anfield this summer with the Express reporting back in late June that Liverpool were lining-up an improved offer after seeing their opening £22m bid rejected.

Brendan Rodgers needs to strengthen his attack following the departure of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City and Benteke appears to be a key target but the Reds boss has so far refused to meet the strikers £32.5m release clause that Aston Villa are demanding.

It looks like Liverpool’s reluctance could cost them as the Telegraph are now citing a report from the Sun that claims Manchester United are ready to activate Benteke’s clause and suggest the Red Devils could have the transfer wrapped-up by the weekend.

The Birmingham Mail are also reporting that United are set to make an official bid for the 24-year-old over the next 48 hours and claim that Benteke would prefer a move to Old Trafford over Anfield as he would then achieve his dream of playing in the Champions League.

These reports come just 24 hours after Benteke caused a stir on Twitter after he favourited a tweet about him joining United to be back-up to Wayne Rooney – although the Belgian international quickly realised his mistake and deleted the tweet.

It will be interesting to see how Liverpool respond if United do end up triggering the strikers release clause. Will Rodgers bite the bullet and agree to pay £32.5m as well or will he give up his pursuit and move on to other targets?

Even if they do match what United are prepared to pay they may struggle to persuade Benteke to opt for a move to Anfield, so as it stands it looks as though the Merseysiders could miss out on his signature despite leading the chase for several weeks.

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If United do end up signing Benteke he will become their fifth major signing of the summer and Louis van Gaal will have acted quickly to bring in a replacement for Robin van Persie following his move to Fenerbache earlier this week.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the next couple of days but I think Benteke would be an excellent signing for either United or Liverpool. He’s strong, powerful, has Premier League experience and has scored 49 goals in 100 games for a weak Villa side, so he’d certainly be a real threat up front.