Crystal Palace news: Christian Benteke could be sold this summer

Journalist Tom Barclay reckons that Crystal Palace signing a striker this summer could allow Christian Benteke to leave.

The Belgian striker only signed a new deal with the Selhurst Park outfit in June but has slipped down the pecking order of late and is finding starts hard to come by.

Having ended last season in impressive form by scoring in each of his final four appearances, the 31-year-old, who joined the Eagles for £28m in 2016, was rewarded with a two-year contract.

But Patrick Vieira brought in Odsonne Edouard and tried to sign Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, which appeared to suggest that he wasn’t completely satisfied with his squad.

Despite Edouard’s arrival, Benteke saw plenty of minutes early on in the season, scoring four goals across a five-game period, including one at Arsenal and a brace in the draw with Burnley.

But in recent months, the experienced frontman has been starved of minutes, starting just two of the last 10 Premier League games and was an unused substitute at Brentford last time out.

Palace once again tried to sign Nketiah in the January, although they did bolster their strike department after Jean-Philippe Mateta made his loan deal permanent having clearly impressed Vieira.

They were also keen on signing Real Madrid youngster, Borja Mayoral, who’s currently on loan at Getafe this season, highlighting Vieira’s want to strengthen his options at the top end of the pitch.

Long-term target, Nketiah, is a free agent at the end of the season, meaning he’ll be available to sign for nothing. Regardless, Barclay believes that any striker added could allow Benteke to move on.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “Even if it’s not Nketiah, if it’s another striker they could bring in, just a numbers game, maybe that could