Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy doesn’t think the Reds have the quality to contend for a top-four finish in the Premier League, but he did love the signing of former Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke during the summer transfer window.

Speaking to Sportsmail‘s Luke Augustus, he tipped the Belgium international to do great things at Anfield, saying: “I think [Christian] Benteke is a brilliant signing—he’s definitely a player who is going to do well.”

Benteke headlines a group of new players who arrived at Anfield during the summer, including talented youngster Joe Gomez, Brazil international Roberto Firmino, star full-back Nathaniel Clyne and seasoned veteran James Milner.

The 24-year-old scored 13 goals in 26 Premier League starts for Villa last year, establishing himself as one of the top young target men in the country, per WhoScored.com. Along with goals, the Belgian brings a healthy work-rate up front, and he’ll weigh on defences any way he can, via WhoScored:

As a young player with plenty of upside and Premier League experience, it made sense for the Reds to trigger his release clause and bring him to Anfield in an attempt to solve the issues at the striker position.

Last season’s options didn’t produce at all, and both Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert have joined new clubs just one year after making the move to Liverpool. Daniel Sturridge remains the team’s most talented scorer, but health has been a major issue during the last few seasons.

Bellamy believes Sturridge and Benteke can both have excellent seasons, providing Philippe Coutinho continues playing like a star. The Brazil international was one of the top breakout players last season and enters the 2015-16 season as the Reds’ primary playmaker, in charge of getting the ball to the front men.

But despite the obvious talent of the forwards and the solid purchases manager Brendan Rodgers made this summer, Bellamy still thinks the team isn’t good enough to crack the top four and qualify for the Champions League. Depth remains an issue, and key contributors like Gomez and Jordon Ibe lack the experience that could make the difference in pivotal moments.

The Reds could still qualify through the Europa League, as the winners of that competition are now automatically handed a spot in the Champions League, but Bellamy doesn’t see that happening, either:

The Europa League is difficult, it really is to try and compete in that and then play Premier League football on a Sunday.

In the Champions League you’re travelling to some of the best cities and stadiums in Europe but in the Europa League you’re going further out, to lesser stadiums, travelling is a lot more stressful and I feel in that competition everyone just wants to get through.

You try and get to the quarter-finals as well as you can with your league form intact, while changing as much as possible, but it get serious around about the knockout stage.

Before then you just want to try and keep your league position as strong as possible while trying to get through the group stages.

Liverpool added a bunch of high-upside players during the summer, and while the expectations for the 2015-16 season should be tempered, the long-term future of this team looks very bright. Benteke is both an immediate-impact player and a long-term option, however, so it’s easy to see why Bellamy is such a fan of the signing.

 

Denis Cheryshev Responsible for Failed Alberto Moreno Move?

According to Catalan newspaper Sport (h/t Liverpool Echo‘s Kristian Walsh), Spanish full-back Alberto Moreno didn’t join Real Madrid because Rodgers was adamant the Reds had to receive Russian winger Denis Cheryshev in return.

The 24-year-old reportedly has a buyout clause of £146 million, according to the Daily Star (via Walsh), and Los Blancos plan on sticking to said clause, as they don’t want Cheryshev to move.

Walsh was sceptical of the report, as he believes the Reds were never interested in the Russia international in the first place:

Quite why the Reds wanted the Russian winger is unknown, given it was understood the club had no interest in him earlier in the summer. Still, Catalan newspaper Sport says it was mooted Cheryshev would come to Anfield, with Moreno heading to the Bernabeu. Neither deal happened.

What a surprise.

Cheryshev spent the 2014-15 season on loan with Villarreal and showed enough promise to warrant a move back to the Bernabeu. He’s unlikely to see much playing time in 2015-16, however, with a host of established stars ahead of him in the pecking order.

As reported by Marca, he seems determined to show his value to the Real fans and would be willing to switch positions if that’s what it took to get on the pitch:

I think the coach sees me on the left side of midfield. We haven’t spoken about playing at full-back – there are other players who can operate in that position, like Alvaro Arbeloa and Nacho, but if there were a big need, I’d have no problem doing it. That said, I see myself more in attacking positions – that’s where I’m most comfortable.

The Reds could always use depth at the wide positions, but Cheryshev hasn’t done enough during his young career to warrant any kind of significant transfer fee. Right now, he wouldn’t be an automatic starter at Anfield, and his upside may not be as high as that of Ibe, who also needs minutes to keep developing.

Moreno provides valuable depth behind young starlet Gomez, and with Marcelo the obvious choice to start at left-back for Los Blancos, it’s hard to see why Real would be interested in the Spaniard. Manager Rafa Benitez felt comfortable sending Fabio Coentrao out on loan to Inter Milan, so he clearly trusts the options he already has at the position.

 

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