New £32.5 million signing Christian Benteke trained with some of his fellow Liverpool teammates yesterday at Melwood, including strikers Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini whose futures are still up in the air as far as the Merseyside club is concerned, as well as Philippe Coutinho and other new boy Brazilian, Roberto Firmino who did not travel with the rest of the squad on their pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East after being given extra-time off following their participation in the Copa America.
The 24-year-old Belgium international has made it clear that he has come to Anfield to win trophies, while also thanking the clubs owners The Fenway Sporting Group, along with managing director Ian Ayre and team manager Brendan Rodgers for making it happen.
He said: “I’m very happy to be here and I would like to thank the owners, Ian [Ayre] and of course the manager for their massive effort to bring me here.
“I think it was the right club for me because I had a good chat with the manager and I wanted to be part of his project.
“When I came here with Aston Villa [it was] a great feeling to play at Anfield. Now, to be in the home shirt is going to be an exciting feeling.
“I know Liverpool is a big story. They’ve won [many] league titles and the Champions League five times and of course the UEFA Cup and a lot of trophies. I know it’s a big club.
“I came here to win trophies. I came here to reach some great goals with the team.”
