Aston Villa would love Christian Benteke

Aston Villa have been host to some outstanding talent in recent years, many of whom Steven Gerrard would love to have in his side.

Jack Grealish is the obvious candidate for a return, having only left last summer, however, the money earned for his departure – a whopping £100m – was too good to ever deny.

One man who would certainly benefit from Gerrard’s system, however, is a prime Christian Benteke, who was exceptional during his stint at Villa Park.

With the 42-year-old currently employing a 4-4-2 formation with a narrow diamond of central midfielders at its core, the Belgian feeding off the deliveries of Lucas Digne and Matty Cash sounds like a scary prospect.

The Frenchman has attempted 31 crosses this season, whilst the Poland international has attempted 21.

If they were aimed at Benteke, they would surely reap higher rewards than they currently are.

Throughout his career in the league, the 31-year-old has scored 33 of his 86 goals with his head. Whilst at his “outstanding” best, he would have thrived in this system.

Especially when he would be paired alongside Danny Ings, with the prolific little marksman the perfect player to feed off a true target man. He averages 5.98 touches in the opposition’s penalty area per 90, which would surely improve if he was employed beside a true battering ram striker.

During his debut season in the Midlands, Benteke scored 19 Premier League goals as his Villa side flirted with relegation.

To be thrust into a side inundated with far more quality would certainly have aided his performances.

Paul Lambert played a blinder when he tempted the powerful striker to sign for his side in 2012, especially given the £7m price tag.

It just remains a shame that he came at a period when Villa were so poor, as they did not finish above 15th during his time there.

However, it is no surprise that the season after he left, the Villains were relegated in a miserable campaign that saw them garner just 17 points as they finished rock-bottom.

Whilst Ollie Watkins deputises well as the larger of the two strikers, it cannot be denied that to have a prime version of what was the quintessential target man enter Gerrard’s team would have set the Premier League on fire this season.

They certainly would not be struggling like they currently are.