EPL transfer news: Liverpool on the verge of signing Benteke

Most likely, Emmanuel Adebayor won’t be able to score 13 goals like Benteke did last season but should he score at least half of that, it’ll be a huge improvement from what the Togolese striker accomplished a year ago with Tottenham – two goals in 17 appearances throughout all competitions.

Rodgers desperately needs a striker who can stand up to the rigours of the Premier League.

Benteke has tormented Liverpool several times in the past as a part of the opposition, but now the Reds will be hoping that he can be equally effective for them. I don’t think anyone can doubt his loyalty after that.

City urgently needed to add homegrown players to their ranks after the departures of James Milner, Frank Lampard, Dedryck Boyata, Scott Sinclair and Micah Richards left them with only Joe Hart and Gael Clichy before their flurry of moves in the past week.

Crucially, it is also finding the net where Benteke provides a better option.

Benteke, 24, is now expected to undergo his Liverpool medical this week before completing his switch to Anfield. Neither the stats nor form lie.

Is Benteke the answer to Liverpool’s woes up front? Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert are just a few names on the list of forward flops.

Another of Liverpool’s major summer signings – Brazilian Roberto Firmino – begins his pre-season training at Melwood on Wednesday, alongside Philippe Coutinho, and the plan is for Benteke to start his Anfield career then.

That’s because it has dribbled repeatedly from the mouths of dead-eyed ex-pros in the Sky Sports studio and seeped into the everyday footballing lexicon.

It’s worth remembering that the forward has been the glue holding Villa’s feeble attempts to retain Premier League status for some time.

Providing the deal goes through without any complications, it’s important that Rodgers uses Benteke right at the very top of his attack and bases the rest of the side around the idea of getting service into him as quickly as possible. “Divock brings something different too, as does Danny Ings”.

All great sagas must come to a close one day.

Liverpool, however, are often very narrow and their wingers tend to drift inside rather than offer genuine width and a plentiful supply of crosses.

Liverpool has spent a year searching for a generational striker to replace Suarez.

Rodgers has had his eye on the towering 24-year-old for awhile, and the deal might have been done last summer had Benteke not ruptured his Achilles tendon and missed the World Cup for Belgium.

After spending some pretty inflated sums of cash in last summer’s transfer window, yet subsequently failing to witness much return on their new stars when it mattered out on the pitch – Brendan Rodgers and his determined Liverpool side truly had a campaign to forget last term.