Former Crystal Palace striker Marcus Bent has told Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that his old side need to replace Christian Benteke.

Benteke's contract is up in the summer and Bent believes letting him go and buying a new No.9 would be the right move for Palace.

The 6 ft 3 Belgian initially made a great start to life at Selhurst Park, scoring 15 Premier League goals in his debut season for the club.

However, it has been downhill ever since for Benteke, who scored just six league goals combined across the following three campaigns.

For Bent, it is now time for the Belgium international to move on and for Palace to try something new up front.

"Benteke needs 20 chances to score two goals," the ex-Palace player said in an interview with TT. "That's how I see him. He's strong, he's big, but he's not a clinical finisher. I think they need to replace him.

"No disrespect to him. He is a good player. He's a good player on superstar money [£120,000-a-week, according to Spotrac], which could probably go to two or three other players and make the squad and the team a little bit better."

Another Crystal Palace striker who is set for the exit door is Michy Batshuayi, who will return to Chelsea when his loan deal expires at the end of the season. Bearing that in mind, bringing in a new centre-forward could indeed be a priority for the Eagles this summer.