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According to Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws (via Sport Witness), Crystal Palace are keen to offload Christian Benteke this summer, with their patience towards the misfiring striker wearing thin.

The former Liverpool man is among the club's highest earners despite having failed to find the net all season, and the Eagles hierarchy surely feel that he is stealing a living at Selhurst Park.

What's the word?

Well, Het Ltste Nieuwaas (via Sport Witness) report that, with Michy Batshuayi set to return to parent club Chelsea at the end of the season, Palace are willing to let their other Belgian striker go too in a bid to further trim their wage bill.

Benteke still has over a year left on his current deal although he will have to pull off something special this calendar year if he is to be offered any kind of extension, as the club would seemingly rather let him go on a free than continue to pay him his extraordinary reported £120,000-a-week wages.

The number 17 is a shadow of the player he was when he first pulled on the red and blue shirt and most would rather see the back of him sooner rather than later. If Palace can find a suitor for the 28-year-old, then they would be killing two birds with one stone.

The sensible move

Benteke has had more than enough chances both to prove himself and to score but has failed to take them, with his bemusing miss against Newcastle surely the last straw.

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Despite having played only 555 minutes of Premier League football this campaign, the towering hitman rakes in six-figure wages and is one of the highest-paid strikers in England - surely if the Eagles can get rid of him then they will not only lose a player who is redundant to them, but will also have more money to spend too.

The past few windows have seen Palace spend frugally - a new stadium on the horizon has hardly helped matters - but once they're rid of the £27m flop, their books will be far more balanced and they will hopefully be able to go out and address one of their biggest issues.