Christian Benteke, 30, is in the last year of his contract at Selhurst Park; Allardyce said he was interested in signing the striker during the January transfer window but Roy Hodgson responded claiming he was unaware of any approach from West Brom
Tuesday 26 January 2021 16:50, UK
Christian Benteke is expected to remain at Crystal Palace despite interest from West Brom.
The striker is one of several targets for Baggies boss Sam Allardyce as he looks to improve his squad but he is said to be happy and settled at Selhurst Park.
Benteke has regularly been selected in Palace's starting XI in the last few months and is also said to be unphased by Palace signing new striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
He is out of contract in the summer and would expect to have more options to consider if he were to become a free agent, and there are yet to be formal talks over a new deal.
West Brom boss Allardyce admitted his interest in Benteke at the weekend but was unsure as to whether he could be gettable this month.
"I am not sure if Christian is available, he said.
"That's down to the head of recruitment (Ian Pearce) and (technical director) Luke (Dowling).
"If they came to me and said Christian is available - I'm not sure that's the case at the moment - then I'd be interested."
The comments from Allardyce drew a response from Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson prior to the Eagles' top-flight clash with West Ham.
"Christian is in our team at the moment so I didn't know that Sam has been talking about that but he's not spoken to me about it so I don't quite know who he's speaking to so it must be someone else at the club," he said.
"So I can't fill you in more than to say that Christian Benteke is still part of our team here and I'm not convinced that the club are going to be that interested in letting him go."
The Belgian striker, who enjoyed spells at Aston Villa and Liverpool before moving to Palace in 2016, has scored 26 times in 129 appearances for the Eagles in all competitions.
Crystal Palace have extended defender Nathaniel Clyne's contract until the end of the season.
Clyne, 29, returned for a second spell at Selhurst Park when joining on a short-term deal from Liverpool in October last year.
The right-back, who progressed through Palace's academy before moving on to Southampton and then Liverpool, has made 10 appearances for the Eagles in all competitions this season.
Clyne joined Liverpool from Southampton for £12.5m in 2015 and made over 100 appearances in total for the Merseysiders before joining Bournemouth on loan in January 2019.
Clyne said: "I'm delighted to have extended my contract and I'm enjoying my football.
"The players have been top class and I'm enjoying working with the manager and the coaching staff, and looking forward to the rest of the season."
The winter transfer window is open until Monday February 1 at 11pm.
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