By GRAHAM HILL
CHRISTIAN BENTEKE put a host of big clubs on alert last night when he warned Aston Villa: You can’t make me stay.
Tottenham lead the chase for the 23-goal hitman, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea also interested.
Belgian Benteke, 22, said: “If Aston Villa say I must stay, I won’t necessarily accept that. I do not in any way want to feel I didn’t get the most out of my career. I try to get everything.”
Top-scorer Benteke, a £7million capture from Genk last August, has three years of his Villa contract to run and the club believe his value has more than trebled.
While he has opened talks over a new deal, Villa are aware he effectively downed tools at Genk when his Midlands move looked like stalling. Now he looks ready to fight them.
Benteke, on international duty in the USA, said: “Of course playing the World Cup in Rio is in my head. But I have no fear of falling out of the team. There is no point in me getting into a tug-of-war with Villa.
“If the chance comes up for me to join a club like Arsenal, I’m convinced we can reach a compromise where everyone comes out a winner.”
Benteke’s agent Kismet Eris said: “This always happens when he goes away with the national team. I’d prefer he didn’t speak to journalists but the Belgian team insist he does a press conference.
“If he was unhappy at Villa we’d have seen that. But he’s not.”
