Jose Mourinho was keen to sign the Liverpool striker Christian Benteke this summer but the Chelsea hierarchy blocked the deal due to Aston Villa’s demands.
After winning the title last season Mourinho was keen to add goals to his side and identified the Belgian striker as an ideal candidate. Diego Costa’s injury issues meant that Chelsea needed another reliable number nine and Benteke seemed a perfect fit.
Mourinho even spoke to Eden Hazard about the potential transfer. The Belgian winger is a close friend of Benteke. According to Telegraph, Mourinho even contacted the former Villa striker’s agent.
However Aston Villa insisted that Chelsea will have to trigger Benteke’s buyout clause and therefore Mourinho was asked to pull out of the deal.
The Portuguese had to opt for a cheaper alternative in Radamel Falcao. The former Atletico Madrid striker is well past his peak and has been ineffective for the Blues so far.
Furthermore, Costa’s poor form has left Chelsea without a proper attacking threat upfront.
Hindsight is a funny thing but if Mourinho was allowed to get his preferred player, the champions would have been in a much better position attacking wise.
It is believed that Benteke was ready to accept the role of a squad player at Chelsea.
However, Benteke ended up at Liverpool and has been impressive so far.
The towering Belgian will have a chance to show the Chelsea board what they are missing, when Liverpool meet Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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