West Ham out to hijack Crystal Palace’s £30million move for striker Christian Benteke
Belgium ace has been on Hammers boss Slaven Bilic's radar for several weeks while Eagles are preparing mega bid
WEST HAM are looking to hijack Crystal Palace's £30million move for Liverpool striker Christian Benteke.
The 25-year-old Belgium ace has been on Hammers boss Slaven Bilic's radar for several weeks.
Benteke's representatives are aware of the interest in the former Aston Villa star, and talks are thought to be planned with West Ham this week.
A Hammers source said: "It's hard to do business with Liverpool because they always want big numbers and the player's personal terms are high.
"He is not at the top of our list but we continue to monitor the situation. It’s all a bit of a game really.
"Everybody knows who is interested including the player and the agents, but although we are interested there are several other irons in the fire."
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Palace chief Alan Pardew has already lost out on one attacking target this summer after Marseille ace Michy Batshuayi snubbed a move to Selhurst Park to join Chelsea.
Benteke joined Liverpool from Villa after they activated his release clause of £32.5m in 2015.
The ex-Genk forward struggled to cement a first-team place last season and scored just nine goals in 29 appearances.