When Christian Benteke moved from Genk to Aston Villa in 2012 for £7 million , the Belgian was an unknown figure in the Premier League and no one could bet he could be a success at the Midland club .
Under Paul Lambert, Villa struggled to avoid relegation, yet Benteke blossomed and thrived becoming one of the deadliest strikers in the Premier League. The striker was so good that he displaced Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku (then on loan at Everton) as coach Marc Wilmot's favourite number 9 during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Unfortunately the Belgian ruptured his Achilles tendon while in training and was ruled out of the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup, which ensured that an unknown Divork Origi of Lille on standby was called to replace him and Romelu Lukaku taking the attacking lead role for the Red Devils.
Benteke continued where he stopped in his subsequent seasons at Villa park under new manager Tim Sherwood who replaced Lambart. Benteke departed Villa after scoring 42 goals in 89 league games in his three years at the club. His greatest achievement wasn't just scoring goals rather it was the fact that his goals were the main reason Villa survived relegation in his three years at the club as Villa's relegation this season is an empirical evidence of just how vital he was to the club.
Benteke was then signed by Brendan Rodgers who was still trying to get a replacement for Uruguayan forward Lius Suarez who departed in 2014 for Barcelona. While Mario Balotelli was signed for £16 million in 2014, the Italian proved to be a square peg in a round hole, hence the reason the Merseyside club splashed £32 million to sign Benteke last summer. It is a known secret that Benteke struggled at the North West club before the exit of Rodgers but ever since the appointment of Jurgen Klopp, the striker has been a shadow of his old self and sometimes isn't even listed in the match-day squad. While his six goals in 24 league games isn't much a disaster , the problem is that Klopp prefers the same youngster who was called up to the Belgian side as a result of Benteke's injury .
Benteke clearly does not belong in Liverpool as he must try and move away to continue his career . Benteke is also currently third choice behind Danny Sturidge, Divork Origi and even attacking midfielder Roberto Firmino who has been successful as a false 9 as Benteke has watched from the bench. Also the return of former Burnley striker Danny Ings who has been sidelined for over a year will further complicate issues for the Belgian.
Several reasons can be attributed to this and one of such is that the big transfer fee which was paid to secure his services might have affected him, making him try so much to repay the club's faith. It is worthy of note that Benteke is the second most expensive player in Liverpool's history behind Andy Carroll who also flopped upon arrival from Newcastle.
Secondly, Benteke isn't mobile enough to play the Jurgen Klopp's system, as the German demands that his forwards press forward which unfortunately isn't one of the Belgian's greatest strengths. Benteke is rather used to catching opposition defenders on the counter, as Aston Villa did most of the defending hoping to play on the counter , unlike Liverpool who have more quality players hence attack and possess the midfield .
Benteke is also used to wingers whipping crosses forward to him and relies so much on his physicality to out jump and bully opposing defenders , which unfortunately isn't the way Klopp sets out his team. At Villa , Benteke was the vocal point and the likes of Gabby Agbonlahor and Fabian Delph planted the ball on his head on match days, whereas in Liverpool the same cannot be said.
Finally, another reason Benteke has failed is his inability to play on the wings or behind the striker as the likes of Origi and Sturidge have been able to play both as wingers or supporting strikers coupled with their number 9 role .
Whatever might be his plans, Christian Benteke must realise that at 25, he still has a long career ahead of him and must try and move on from his Anfield disappointment .
No comments:
Post a Comment