Friday 17 January 2020 16:51, UK
Crystal Palace manager Rory Hodgson was clearly irritated when he was asked whether he would have supported Christian Benteke going on loan to Bordeaux this month.
The Ligue 1 club were interested in taking the striker but ended their pursuit as they did not want to pay the £500,000 loan fee Palace were demanding.
Benteke has failed to register a goal or an assist in 15 Premier League appearances this campaign, but with Palace scoring fewer goals (20) than any other top-flight side in 22 games, Hodgson is determined to keep the forwards he has.
That includes Wilfried Zaha whose representatives were understood to have held preliminary talks with Bayern Munich earlier in the month.
Asked whether he would like Benteke to stay at the club, Hodgson replied.
"I just can't believe I'm being asked the question to be perfectly honest, I really can't.
"I can't believe in a serious press conference someone is going to suggest, where we have very few forwards anyway, a player that we're badly missing because he's been out injured, that we as a football club or I as the manager are seriously considering loaning out what is potentially one of our best players to a club in the French division.
"I'd love to know where the stories come from, I really would, but I still find it a little bit hard to believe.
"When I ask a question I do say to myself is there any point in asking that question because I know the answer. But we have to sit here every week and answer these questions which come from nowhere.
"It's not quite as ludicrous as Wilf Zaha on loan to Bayern Munich. It's about 10 per cent less ludicrous than that."
Sky Sports will bring you the very latest news from the January transfer market with the return of three shows.
Start your day with Good Morning Transfers at 9am as our team of reporters bring you the latest news and insight. Transfer Talk then follows at midday delivering analysis of the biggest stories. Then join us at 7pm for the definitive round-up of the day's news with The Transfer Show.
Meanwhile, the Transfer Talk podcast will also be back at the turn of the year with more expert analysis from here and across the continent.
And as well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don't miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
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