West Brom plot £30m swap deal to sign Crystal Palace star Christian Benteke
WEST BROM are lining up a £30m swap deal to get Christian Benteke out of Crystal Palace.
Posted Thursday, January 12, 2017 by Express.co.uk
West Brom are considering a £30m swap deal with Crystal Palace for Christian Benteke
The Baggies are hoping to broker a deal which would see want-away striker Saido Berahino go to Crystal Palace along with a big cheque.
Former Liverpool striker Benteke is surplus to requirements at Palace because new boss Sam Allardyce is desperately trying to raise transfer funds for a relegation fight.
It's all a question of what valuation can be agreed on Berahino and the cash adjustment, but it is a deal that appeals to West Brom.
They are set to trigger a cut-price £14m cash auction for their rebel striker with Stoke at the head of the queue.
Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce is willing to sell Benteke to help raise transfer funds
Albion turned down a £20m offer from Tottenham 18 months ago and knocked back a similar Stoke bid in the summer.
But Berahino is out of contract at the end of the season and the club are between a rock and a hard place on how to best deal with his departure.
The 23-year-old is now free to talk to foreign clubs but could just let his contract wind down and walk away in the summer.
That would leave Albion dependant on a tribunal valuation of a player who hasn't appeared in their first team since September.
Tony Pulis is keen to bring Benteke to the Hawthorns
Club officials are well aware they could end up getting their fingers burned and have offered Berahino a £60,000-a-week contract in an attempt to protect their prize asset.
Stoke are keen to do business but are unclear on what West Brom are prepared to accept for the former England Under-21 international.
Potters chairman Peter Coates is keen to get a deal done but only at a vastly reduced figure from the £20m they offered in the summer.
Albion's top brass are getting more mindful by the minute that the transfer window clock is ticking away and something has to be brokered.
They are putting out feelers in the hope of smoking out any other interested clubs but a Palace deal with Benteke coming in would suit them down to the ground.
Albion look ready to do business at around the £14m mark with stipulated add-ons should Berahino eventually get into the England side.
Albion boss Tony Pulis is desperate for the whole disruptive matter to be put to bed once and for all.
Birmingham have signed Albion midfielder Craig Gardner on loan until the end of the season with a view to a £1.5m permanent move.
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