Palace fans in the Transfer Tavern have been shocked by rumours that Christian Benteke could be sold by the club

The striker has been strongly linked with a move away recently, but Sam Allardyce surely needs to keep his talisman is order to keep the club in the Premier League for another season.

There is no doubt that Big Sam will be relying heavily on the big striker as he still searches for his first win since taking the Palace reigns from Alan Pardew, and the former England manager will be hoping Benteke can fire again for him sooner rather than later.

With a win being so desperate for the South London club, Palace need to hold on to Benteke.

Our landlord here in the Transfer Tavern believes that selling him would be condemning the Eagles to relegation.

With a few weeks still to go in this months transfer window, the best bit of business done by Palace could be keeping hold of Benteke and here are THREE reasons why…

Proven Goalscorer

Everyone knows that goalscorers are a rarity that must be cherished.

Benteke has 8 goals from 19 appearances for Palace this season and if he were to double that tally in the second half of the season, his goals would surely keep Palace in the Premier League.

Our landlord believes Big Sam would be a fool to sell such a proven goalscorer in the Premier League in the midst of a relegation battle.

Over spending on a replacement

As goalscorers are such a rare breed, there is an over valuation in strikers that cause clubs to make unnecessary risks.

For example, if Benteke were to leave Palace barring in mind he cost the Eagles £32 million, a striker of similar ability would cost the same price if not morem especially once clubs knew Palace were in the market for a striker.

Benteke is a proven quality goalscorer which is very hard to find for a decent price these days.

The Palace team is built around him

When Alan Pardew signed Benteke, it was evident to see that the team would be geared up to create chances for him.

Benteke’s team mate, Wilfried Zaha, recently said that Benteke made his life easier as a winger saying: ‘It’s made my job much easier because I know if I cross it then he will head it in. He is an easy player to play with’.

Zaha, along with the Palace fans in the Transfer Tavern, will surely be furious if he comes back from the African Cup of Nations to a side without Benteke.