You see- this is what I have a problem with. Tricking football. When you take a gazzillion penalties for your team, you'll surely hit double figures. Doesn't mean you'd have hit those figures if you weren't the designed penalty taker. Let's have all strikers as penalty takers and then say that Benteke hit double figures and others didn't!

Without taking penalties, he'd have:
16 goals in the 12/13 season
7 goals in the 13/14 season
10 goals in the 14/15 season
8 goals in the 15/16 season
13 goals in the 16/17 season
1 in half the 17/18 season

Total playing time: 13.500 minutes.
1 goals every 250 minutes. Even in Liverpool it was 1 goals every 200 minutes, cause he scored 8 and played 1500 minutes.
Compare that to Batshuayi's 10 in 1000 mins just this season.

Edited by mattteo (23 Jan 2018 8.21pm)

Swap with 10m to us but a buy back option for them (at 42.5m) and I'd do it. I think money is tight and this would help elsewhere. Batshuayi may be worse at holding it up, but I see him as much more mobile...and just needing to be loved.

If you want to live in a world full of kindness, respect and love, try to show these qualities.

Kind of off topic here, but does anyone remember in August 2016 when we needed a striker our first choice was actually Batshuayi when he was at Marseille? Then Chelsea came in and stole him by jacking up the price by about 5 mil.

Speroni would've saved it!

He tries his hardest every time he gets an opportunity at Chelsea and usually scores. He seems absolutely desperate to play football.

Benteke starts every game and rarely looks bothered.

There's a chance Benteke is still the better striker but there's two things I think we can be certain of. In 2 seasons time, Batshuayi will be the better striker (just because of age, even if he doesn't improve) and He would give his all every game for Palace and not slouch around like Benteke.

Does that guarantee goals? No. Is it still a much better option for Palace to have both short and long term, in my opinion yes.

However, is this whole topic just us debating or is there actually a source that this deal is being negotiated?

If Benteke is better at hold-up play can only be assessed by a more qualified eye than you or I or even Ray Wilkins. It's subjective. It's not quantifiable, like how many goals they scored. Some people at Chelsea thought Batshuayi is better than Benteke 1 year ago when they decided to pay 30 million for him and not Benteke. Others at Liverpool thought Benteke is better at holding the ball and building up attacks a few years back and gambled on him.

You see something more in Benteke, I see something more in Batshuayi. It's subjective.
I can't really see much building up play at Benteke after seeing the back heel pass and build-up to the Brighton goal that Batsuayi made with Hazard and Willian. I mean, when has Benteke offered a build-up for a goal with his foot? Ever? His only good passes for team mates come from head deviations. Why would his hold-up of the ball contribution be considered so good if he never set up his team mates for dangerous situations with his feet?

And on the subject of the team letting Benteke down.....I think Zaha and Townsend are really good assisters, PVA is a great crosser. He has players to work with, better than in 7-8 other PL teams. He has let himself down

Would really prefer none of the two B's. Our own B(enteke) seems paralyzed and mentally blocked - just wonder how long Roy H & Co are gonna endure this spectacle from our main striker? No change might in the end cost us the PL contract. Better to cut the losses and get someone in that at least is trying to score and work for the team.
Would not mind Ings or/and Ulloa. They both have PL experience - this Eder look more like a Morata (Chelsea) to me. No wonder the ruling champion wanna strengthen on top.....