BBC Sport have confirmed that Christian Benteke is on the verge of becoming a Liverpool player, with the Reds having agreed to meet the player’s £32.5m buyout clause following the sale of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City.
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Here’s everything you need to know about our new man…
Background:
Despite playing for Belgium, Benteke was actually born in Kinshasa in Zaire on 3rd December 1990. He joined his first professional club, Genk, in 2006 – making the move from another Belgian giant, Standard Liege. The 24-year-old enjoyed two spells with both clubs, returning to Liege in 2009 before joining Genk again in 2011, shortly after two unsuccessful periods out on loan.
It was during the 2011-12 season that he made his breakthrough – scoring 16 goals in 33 games. After netting four goals in the first eight games of the following campaign, he earned his move to Villa. A prolific first season in English football followed, comprising 23 goals in just 39 appearances. His progress was slowed by a major injury the following year, although he still managed another 11 goals. His current record stands at 49 in 100 games.
Position and characteristics:
Benteke is of course the out-and-out centre forward that we’ve been craving. This guy is not going to be pushed out wide and he’s not going to drop back into midfield – it’s all or nothing for him in his primary position. He’s developed something of a reputation as a target man. Indeed, he is adept and flicking the ball on and teeing it up for his teammates, but before you start to fear the worst let us reassure you that there is more to his game.
He will get involved in the game more than your usual target man – unlike Andy Carroll or Rickie Lambert – and he’s not afraid to drop back and go looking for possession. He’s good with the ball at his feet and can actually play a very decent long ball. With Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana creating chances for him then he should have plenty to offer.
Statistics:
Benteke scored 13 goals in 26 starts for Villa last season, an impressive record for a team that were struggling for both points and goals at the bottom of the table. He averaged just 2.8 shots per game, significantly less than Mario Balotelli (3.5), who scored just once. This suggests that he’s far more adept at taking his chances when they fall to him, something which was definitely missing for Liverpool’s strikers last season.
He picked up just one yellow card, as well as one red, suggesting his discipline is pretty good for a player that often relies on his strength and power. He won 6.5 aerial duels, an unsurprising statistic for a player with his abilities, while he had a pass success percentage of 66.7. He picked up three man-of-the-match awards.
Courtesy of WhoScored
Strengths:
Look for Benteke to be dominant in the air next season. This could possibly mean a change of approach from Brendan Rodgers, with more emphasis placed on Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno to get up from the back and put quality crosses into the area. Christian is also a very strong finisher, something which we fell short on last season, with the likes of Balotelli, Borini, Sturridge and Lambert scoring just eight league goals between them.
The Villa man has got a very powerful right foot on him. He’s capable of shooting from distance, both during open play and from set pieces, again suggesting that there’s more to him than his heading abilities. What we’ll most be hoping for is that Benteke provides us with a presence up front, and doesn’t go missing like some of his predecessors. He needs to be involved in all facets of the game and should hopefully hit the ground running.
Weaknesses:
His hold-up play needs work. At Villa, he’s often found himself as the lone forward on more than one occasion and teams have sometimes managed to mark him out of the game. If a striker of Benteke’s size and strength can’t hold on to the ball then it’s going to prevent his teammates from getting up in support of him. With players such as Coutinho and Firmino around him and looking to feed off his touches, this needs to be improved.
He also gets caught offside more often than you like to see. Between that and his failure to get back and help the defence, it’s easy to see why Belgium manager Marc Wilmots once described him as a pole. Following a Euro 2016 qualifying defeat against Wales earlier this year, he told Goal: “Benteke was isolated. I then played with two strikers, but they [Benteke and Romelu Lukaku] need more crosses. We asked them to get to the front post, but they stand there like two poles. We still have work to do.”
In schoolboy terms that’s known as a goal-hanger…
How would he fit in at Liverpool:
Liverpool have been searching for a solution to our striking problems for more than a year now, since Luis Suarez joined Barcelona. Balotelli, Borini and Lambert have all flattered to deceive while Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems have left us with a mountain to climb. Benteke will now form part of a new-look striking quartet alongside Sturridge, Danny Ings and Divock Origi.
He’ll certainly offer us something totally different. However, with only one central striker spot to play for, Benteke is only going to have a couple of months to prove that he deserves to hold on to the place – ahead of Sturridge’s return from injury. Ings – signed from Burnley – and Origi will likely provide the two back-up options, although both players will have their own ambitions for proving their worth under Brendan Rodgers.
