Crystal Palace are ready to pay £31.5 million for Christian Benteke

Crystal Palace could smash their transfer record to bring misfiring forward Christian Benteke to the club from Liverpool.

The Belgian only moved to Anfield from Aston Villa for £32.5 million last summer but he has failed to impress since then.

Palace boss Alan Pardew is keen to add more firepower to the squad having last week acquired winger Andros Townsend from Newcastle United.

Last week an opening bid of £25m was rejected by Liverpool for the Belgium forward, who cost £32.5m when joining from Aston Villa a year ago.

Palace’s new proposal is understood to be worth an initial £27m, with further fees linked to appearances, achievements and the club’s ability to qualify for Europe.

Personal terms are not expected to prove problematic because the 25-year-old is keen to revive his career, although negotiations continue over the player’s image rights.

– The Guardian

Benteke scored just ten times in 42 games in his first season with Liverpool, a disappointing return after he bagged 49 goals in 101 games for Aston Villa over three campaigns.

Jurgen Klopp is believed to be keen on shipping out the 25-year-old who was brought to Liverpool by previous manager Brendan Rodgers.

£27m up front, with £4.5m in add ons #LFC https://t.co/eTxsQoF91q

— Neil Jones (@neiljonesecho) July 4, 2016

Looks like £60 million could be spent on Benteke in the space of 12 months. Rarely has the market for unused Belgium subs thrived like this.

— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) July 4, 2016

CREDIT TO:http://backpagefootball.com/report-crystal-palace-ready-pay-31-5-million-christian-benteke/109746/