Besiktas president Fikret Orman has confirmed interest in Liverpool striker Christian Benteke.
Speaking at Adriano’s signing ceremony Orman confirmed that he wants Benteke at the club but also revealed that the transfer will not be easy to pull off.
“Benteke is a great player but he has a very high market valuation,” Orman said.
“I want Benteke but Liverpool want a lot for him, it won’t be an easy transfer but we will see.”
A source close to the club told Turkish-football.com that Besiktas have a shortlist of strikers who they have identified as potential replacements for Mario Gomez and that Benteke is on the list along with Chelsea forward Loic Remy.
The Echo report that the Reds want £32.5 million for the Belgium international striker and that Jurgen Klopp will not consider offers below the asking price.
Besiktas would not currently be able to match his asking price due to their FFP obligations but Turkish sports newspaper Fanatik report that Liverpool are locked in talks with the Black Eagles over the loan transfer of Benteke.
The Istanbul giants loaned Gomez from Fiorentina last season and he went onto thrive finishing the season as leading goal scorer, winning the league title and getting recalled to the Germany national team side ahead of Euro 2016.
The Eagles have a reputation for developing players and have a squad including some of the most sought after players in Turkish football including Gokhan Tore – who is on loan at West Ham – and Oguzhan Ozyakup who is targeted by Manchester United and Arsenal.
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