Christian Benteke would not be a bad signing for West Ham. There, I said it.
I understand that this will be an extremely sensitive area for many West Ham fans, with most of those reading this already thinking something along the lines of: “oh no, not Benteke. He’s useless.” But, with the Hammers still on the search for that elusive 20-goal-a-season striker, I think that Benteke is in genuine contention of filling the vacancy.
With West Ham having bids rejected for players like Lacazette, Batshuayi and Bacca, I am sure that the attention of the club will soon turn to the Belgian striker.
Benteke currently plays at Liverpool, though his game-time has been limited under former Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp. First team football will be a priority for Benteke, should he look to move away from Anfield, and West Ham could certainly offer this.
There are many West Ham fans that will be opposed to the idea of having Benteke as our new ‘star striker’, but I do not see what is so bad about this signing.
Background
Prior to his move to Merseyside, Benteke made a name for himself at Aston Villa. In the three seasons at Villa Park he made over 100 appearances, scoring 49 goals and assisting 12 in the process. In his final season with the Villans, Benteke scored 13 goals in a very poor Villa side and guided them to Premier League safety – finishing just three points above the relegation zone.
His goalscoring record is certainly impressive for someone many do not feel is good enough to wear the famous claret and blue.
Last Season
Ask any Liverpool fan, or any Premier League watch in fact, and they will tell you that Benteke had a torrid time last season. He scored just nine times in 29 league appearances.
What they will neglect to tell you is that the majority of those performances were as a substitute. He only clocked up 1519 minutes last season – the equivalent to 52 minutes per game. In fact, Benteke averaged a goal every 168 minutes last season, thus maintaining (and actually bettering) his record of a goal every two games.
Style of play
Benteke would be an excellent fit for West Ham, in my opinion. He could quite easily slot into our first-team with the current set-up that we deploy.
Next season West Ham are likely to utilise their strength out wide by attacking down the flanks, with Aaron Cresswell and Sam Byram overlapping. With players like Dimitri Payet, Sofiane Feghouli, Michail Antonio, Manuel Lanzini and our fullbacks providing width, crosses will be expected, so it is crucial that West Ham have somebody in the centre willing to attack them.
Benteke will not be required to create phases of play, but focus on finishing them instead. All he will have to focus on is getting into the box, his movement and, of course, finding the back of the net.
Asking price
Normally, £25million would be an obscene amount of money, but in the modern day footballing world it is merely a drop in the ocean.
Benteke is just 25-years-old and has averaged a goal every two games at two separate Premier League clubs. He may not be what Liverpool need and he might not fit their system, but his ability certainly isn’t lacking.
Liverpool are thought to be looking for a fee in the region of £25million – £7million less than they paid Aston Villa – and, considering the prices we’ve been quoted for other strikers, the price-tag no longer seems that daunting.
