Benitez's Knee Puts Pounds 9m Deal On Hold ; Benitez Medical Concern for Blues

Summary

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BLUES could be poised to renegotiate the Christian Benitez deal amid concerns about his medical examination results. The announcement of the pounds 9 million-rated striker's signing has been delayed in the wake of exhaustive checks. It is believed that scans showed up a knee problem and Blues therefore stopped short of unveiling him officially. And the next step could be talks with the Ecuador star's Mexican club Santos Laguna to redraft the agreement in order that the club protect themselves.

Blues had agreed a pounds 6.2 million down-payment with the Mexican outfit, plus a further pounds 3 million add-on, making Benitez the club's record signing. Benitez arrived in England last week for his medical and to seal other formalities on a three-year contract. It came as a relief to Blues after weeks of wrangling to obtain a visa for the 23-year-old. But the transfer unexpectedly continued to drag on and supporters started to wonder just what was happening. The hitch has been somewhat puzzling for all parties as Benitez has no previous history of knee trouble. He is currently on the mend from a shoulder operation, and suffered a leg fracture in November. But otherwise his playing record has been good and he has apparently not missed matches because of his knee.

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Benitez's Knee Puts Pounds 9m Deal On Hold ; Benitez Medical Concern for Blues

The situation is reminiscent of the Peter Ndlovu transfer from Coventry City in 1997. B...

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