Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke has decision to make amid Trabzonspor and Standard Liege interest

Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke has a big transfer decision to make this summer, after falling down the pecking order at Selhurst Park.

The Belgian has seen his playing time diminish since the turn of the year and the emergence of Jean-Philippe Mateta, a player who is similar to the Belgian in so many ways, means he will have to think deeply about his next move.

The 31-year-old started the season as the first-choice striker, having fought off competition from fellow Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi to secure a two year deal.

But four goals in 24 league appearances and body language that continues to suggest he has been mistreated means he will be one of Palace’s big talking points this summer.

His payslips do not help, as he is one of the few players at Palace who is reportedly earning £100,000-a-week.

Qatar World Cup

The biggest concern for Benteke at the moment is getting playing time before the Qatar World Cup in November and December.

His direct competitor Divock Origi will likely to move in the summer to get more minutes, and Benteke thinks he will do his chances a world of good by playing more minutes.

Belgium’s manager Roberto Martínez is a big admirer of the forward’s playing style and would naturally pick him if he was playing and scoring goals, but the situation becomes complicated if his rivals are firing on all cylinders.

At the age of 31, Benteke still feels he is the best striker at Palace and would like to stick around and fight for his position.

And it’s not like he’s not done it before.

When Michy Batshuayi joined on loan from Chelsea, many thought that was the end of Benteke in South London.

But he kept his cool and took his chance when presented with a run in the team, which eventually led to him being rewarded with a new contract.

High wages

In the best of times Benteke is a top professional, and even though he’s not been playing the feeling at Palace is that he is contributing behind the scenes.

But he’s got his own ambitions and that is to try and stay in London where his family is very comfortable.

Crystal Palace are looking to bring in a new striker, possibly Eddie Nketiah, and that also means that they will have to balance the books with the likes of Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard.

Vieira is also trying to convince Wilfried Zaha to chip in as a forward next season, something the star man is not too keen on.

The decision to stay or leave might even be taken away from Benteke hand, depending on how the summer goes.

There is the possibility that Conor Gallagher could yet decide to stick around for one more season on loan, and if he does the focus will be to get two full backs and a striker.

If that doesn’t pull apart the wage bill then Benteke could stick around and see out his last year on his contract.

His relationship with the technical team remains good.

Turkish clubs and Standard Liege are interested

Last winter, there was genuine interest from Burnley but that ship has sailed with the signing of Wout Weghorst.

But Standard Liege, the club where he came through, have always said they would love to have him back to finish his career in Belgium,

The only issue with that is Benteke still feels he has a lot to offer at the highest level and his family loves living in London.

Clubs in Turkey, Trabzonspor and Antalyaspor, have also been in touch and that would be in real consideration if it was made clear to him that he would be moved on in the summer.

There are just two games to end the season, and the final game at Selhurst Park against Manchester United will tell us more about where his head at is going into a summer that is likely to have a lot of twists and turns.