Premier League side Aston Villa have announced that star striker Christian Benteke has handed in a transfer request.
The Belgian proved to be an instant hit at Villa Park having arrived from Genk last summer and he has in turn been linked with England’s top clubs.
Even if the Villans ended up securing their Premier League status, Benteke has informed the club chiefs that he would like to leave the club this summer.
“In response to reports that Christian Benteke has not travelled to Germany with the club and has made a transfer request, we can confirm that both are accurate,” club’s official statement read.
“For clarity’s sake, however, he had already been given extra time off until July 18 and was reminded that there are three years remaining on his contract. We consider him to be a Villa player and expect that he will be with us for the 2013-14 season.
“Having received his transfer request, we have also informed him that should we receive an offer within an appropriate timeframe during pre-season which meets our valuation we would act upon it. But he will remain a Villa player should this not happen.”
For the time being, Tottenham appear to be leading the chase for the player’s signature, with Spurs 2.00 (1/1) favourites at SkyBet to sign Benteke this summer.
Chelsea and Arsenal are both priced at 4.50 (7/2), whereas Liverpool are 15.00 (14/1) and Borussia Dortmund are 26.00 (25/1).
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