John Salako Claims 'Lack of Desire' Means £30m Flop Should Leave Crystal Palace

Former Crystal Palace winger John Salako has claimed that Christian Benteke should leave the club for a fresh start.

Benteke scored 18 goals in the past two seasons for Palace but is yet to score this season. The Belgian's poor form has caused several pundits to question the forward's future at the club, with Salako claiming that Benteke should be sold.

Salako, told Talksport (via HITC): "They’ve got to keep playing to his strengths, he looks like he’s back to his best in the air. But because of the system they play he’s not getting that service where he wants it, coming onto the ball and getting goals.

"He just needs a couple of goals, it must be destroying his confidence. Usually you have to move clubs and get a fresh start."

The pundit continued: "When I look at Benteke, I don’t think he’s got that desire. You watch him sometimes and he’s coming off and you think ‘does it mean enough?'"

The former Liverpool striker missed the victory over Huddersfield through injury, with Jordan Ayew starting ahead of him. The Ghanaian completed the full 90 minutes and will put pressure on Benteke for a starting spot once the 27-year-old regains full fitness.

Team news: We picked up an injury from the West Brom game with Jairo Riedewald. He has had a scan and we are hoping he will be in training next week. We are monitoring Christian Benteke day to day.

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In his pre-match press conference, Eagles manager Roy Hodgson was asked if he is concerned by the Belgian's form Hodgson, replying: "It all boils down to the definition of the word concern.

"It is not something we think about every day in thinking it won’t change. The more the pressure weighs upon a striker when they are not scoring, but we know Christian is working hard to do the right things and we believe he will take chances."

Most Big Chances in the Premier League since 2017/18 (scored):

Mohamed Salah: 50 (22)
Harry Kane: 45 (22)
Gabriel Jesus: 33 (13)
Sergio Agüero: 30 (16)
Romelu Lukaku: 29 (14)
Raheem Sterling: 28 (15)
Álvaro Morata: 28 (10)
Christian Benteke: 27 (3)

That last one. 😳 pic.twitter.com/WuHi8uCD7P
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 24, 2018

The former England manager added: "We can’t change the past, or the statistics, but we do still believe in his future. We believe it is a spell he will get through."