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John Barnes: 'Liverpool will have to change to suit Christian Benteke'

John Barnes feels that Liverpool would have to change their style of play to accommodate Christian Benteke.

Former Liverpool midfielder John Barnes has suggested that his old side would have to change their style of play in order to accommodate Christian Benteke.

The Aston Villa striker has been linked with a move to Anfield, with recent reports suggesting that the Belgian wants to force through an exit this summer.

Barnes has said that Liverpool might have to play more direct if they were to get the best out of Benteke.

"Liverpool will have to adapt the way they play to suit Christian Benteke," he told talkSPORT. "When they play with Raheem Sterling, and Philippe Coutinho, they pass the ball through midfield and always want to score the perfect goal.

"With Benteke, you get the ball wide and then in the box, you need to be a little bit more direct.

"If he comes it will need a sweeping change in the way Liverpool play. Would that be a bad thing? Not necessarily, balance is important. At times Liverpool overplayed which really came off two years ago but didn't last season. He would cause people a lot of problems."

Benteke joined Villa from Genk in 2012.

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Christian Benteke of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Everton at Villa Park on May 2, 2015
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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