Player Focus: Would Benteke be Better Suited for Liverpool or Spurs?

On the face of it, Christian Benteke would perhaps be best suited remaining at Aston Villa this summer. With Euro 2016 under a year away, the powerhouse striker will want to secure a regular starting berth in order to retain his place in the Belgium starting XI for the competition in France and the Villans are understandably keen on holding on to their prized asset as they look to build on a campaign that saw them successfully stave off relegation.

Benteke has been Villa’s top scorer in each of the three seasons he has been at the club, accentuating his statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘finishing’. Indeed, over the last three Premier League campaigns, only Sergio Agüero (55), Luis Suárez (54) and Robin van Persie (48) have scored more league goals than Benteke (42). The 24-year-old’s 13 headed goals over that period is also the most of all players, with the Belgium international, to some, viewed as the ideal target man for any Premier League team.

As one might imagine, interest in Benteke’s signature is high and it’s fair to say the burly frontman could have moved on to pastures new last summer had he not ruptured his Achilles tendon last April. Nevertheless, his time on the sidelines did little to deter potential suitors, many of whom have been credited with a long-standing interest in the young striker. Tottenham Hotspur are among those supposedly in the running for Benteke’s signature, with reports this week suggesting the north London side could offer Emmanuel Adebayor as bait for the Villa man.

Adebayor enjoyed something of a renaissance at Spurs with current Villa boss Tim Sherwood at the White Hart Lane helm over 12 months ago and it’s little shock that the Togo international has been linked with a move to Villa, which would see Benteke move the other way. Given Harry Kane’s breakthrough year at Spurs, some may be bewildered by the link. Kane is now rightly considered a first team regular at White Hart Lane, with the young England international vice-captain behind goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

It’s unlikely that Kane will be dropped from the starting XI to make way for Benteke and with Pochettino favouring a 4-2-3-1 formation, the chances of the Argentine tinkering his system to accommodate the duo is low. However, there is the possibility of Pochettino dropping Kane into the number 10 role with Benteke spearheading the attack. Indeed, Kane made 5 starts in the league and Europa League in the position for Spurs last season, netting 4 goals in the process and gaining a respectable WhoScored rating of 7.46.

The 21-year-old is clearly an adaptable performer and given he often drops into deeper positions to link up with the Spurs midfield, a potential switch on the pitch is not out of the equation. Though Kane’s strongest position, as proven last season, is as the lead frontman, the possibility of he and Benteke forming a lethal partnership up front would be high.

Spurs will have to meet the £32.5m release clause in order to convince Villa to sell, breaking their previous transfer record in the process, but with teams around them spending big, the north London side may have to do just that if they are to keep up with their rivals. Throwing Adebayor in would only sweeten any potential deal, but it’s likely Spurs must break the bank to land the Belgian.

The same applies to Liverpool, with Anfied believed to be the Belgian's preferred destination. The Reds have been active in the transfer market so far this summer and any capture of the Belgian would be their 7th acquisition of the window. After missing out on Carlos Bacca, who signed for AC Milan on Thursday, Benteke supposedly remains Liverpool’s top target, though any potential move has been met with scepticism by some quarters of the Anfield faithful.

Benteke’s biggest asset is his ability to hold up play, but he’s better equipped to balls being pumped long into the final third than he is in the patient build up approach that Brendan Rodgers prefers at Liverpool. A 66.7% pass success rate last season was a modest return for Benteke and is in line with any of the Premier League’s top target men, but it’s reasonable to suggest that the Belgian is not the striker Liverpool require and that someone of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's calibre would be a more viable target. Rodgers favours his lead striker to be quick off the mark and hang on the shoulder of the last defender, springing attacks in the blink of an eye. It’s for this reason why Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were unmitigated success’ during the 2013/14 season, where the duo netted 52 of Liverpool’s 101 league goals. 

Benteke is no slouch, that goes without saying, but his approach to attacking differs from that of Suarez and Sturridge. He could perform a similar role, but that would not be playing to his strengths. However, the idea behind his move could be to utilise the offensive qualities of Philippe Coutinho and summer arrival Roberto Firmino. In the pairing, Rodgers has two of the most exciting attacking talents in Europe and given their performances for Liverpool and Hoffenheim respectively last season, Benteke could be viewed as the ideal man to lead the attack. 

Neither are viewed as out-and-out frontmen and work better supporting a traditional number 9. In that case, Benteke could be a perfect fit, especially if Rodgers deploys a narrow 4-3-3 formation, with Coutinho and Firmino in support of the striker. In Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and James Milner, he has three industrious midfielders able to carry out their defensive obligations, providing Coutinho and Firmino, to an extent, with a license to roam freely across the final third. 

While Coutinho and Firmino won’t shirk their defensive responsibilities entirely, they will instead be allowed to maximise the attacking qualities of their respective games, which is expected to benefit Liverpool when pushing forward. And besides, with Danny Ings’ arrival, the Reds have some variation in their attack, which means that they can either rely on Benteke’s hold up play to hurt the opposition, utilise Ings as more of a poacher or the pace of Sturridge. 

While some may worry that Liverpool will overspend to bring Benteke to the club, invoking memories of Andy Carroll’s disastrous spell, the Villa star is a more rounded frontman than Liverpool’s record signing and it’s clear Rodgers has a plan for him in his system if he is willing to spend big to take him to Merseyside. There is a risk in a player adjusting to the demands of a new club, but at 24 years of age; Benteke is capable of altering his game to match Rodgers’ needs. 

Be it Spurs or Liverpool, either team will sign themselves a quality striker that is only going to improve if they decide to stump up Benteke's release clause. However, both Pochettino and Rodgers would have to tinker with their system in order to accommodate Benteke. Nevertheless, with both teams harbouring Champions League aspirations, it could well be worth spending big to sign the big Belgian this summer.

Do you think Christian Benteke will depart Aston Villa this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below