Chelsea FC Must Avoid Signing Christian Benteke

We analyse why Chelsea FC signing Christian Benteke makes little sense, and a look at the options available for Mourinho next season.

Belgium football has been on the rise for the past few years. The Premier League has been flooded with talented footballers from the Western European nation, with the likes of Eden Hazard, Fellaini, Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Kompany, Dembele, Mignolet and Mirallas making a name for them-self in England. During Belgiumai??i??s last World Cup qualification match against Serbia, which they won 2-1, 10 out of the 14 players (3 substitutes) used by Marc Wilmots, are owned by English clubs ai??i?? and incredibly Chelsea alone own four of them. So almost inevitably, the London club has now been linked with another Belgium international, Christian Benteke.

The 22-year-old arrived at Aston Villa last season from Belgian club Genk. The Villans and Paul Lambert took the gamble of spending A?7 million on a talent that was yet to prove itself consistently, and their faith was repaid as the tall striker scored 19 goals in the Premier League and was one of the main reasons why Aston Villa managed to avoid the drop. But retaining the Premier League status almost feels like a parting gift from Benteke now. Aston Villa have confirmed that the striker has handed over a transfer request and revealed that he has not traveled to Germany with the squad as they begin their pre-season tour.

While his eventual departure from Aston Villa was expected, it still comes across as a shock that he has handed over a transfer request after spending just one season at the club. In just one season, his personal ambitions have outgrown the club. But sadly, nowadays transfer request from a footballer shouldn’t come across as a surprise. That is how the game has evolved. A 22-year-old, who was a relatively unknown name just one season ago, suddenly finds himself under the spot light and thinks he is ready to move to a ai???biggerai??i?? club ai??i?? sounds all too familiar in this day and age. ai???Smallerai??i?? clubs are finding it harder to hold on to their youngsters and although the Premier League prides itself on its competitiveness, the truth remain that the disparity between the top six clubs in the league and the rest is growing with every passing season. Perhaps everything is fair in the name of ai???ambitionai??i??.

But it is ludicrous to assume that every player moves for a bigger pay-cheque. The lure of European football and playing among the elites of the game is perhaps too hard for a youngster to resist. Benteke perhaps wonai??i??t earn much more than what he is earning at Aston Villa, because there is no or little difference between Aston Villaai??i??s top earner and the wage a top-six club can afford for a second or third choice striker. This perhaps what makes this recent trend, of youngsters preferring to sit on bench of a big club rather than playing regular first team football at a smaller club, hard to fathom. And all these takes place in the name of ambition.

Aston Villa were looking to build a team around Benteke next season. They have some wonderful youngsters in their ranks and had they been able to add a bit of experience in the transfer market, Aston Villa had the potential to become a mid-table club instead of being involved in a relegation dog-fight once again. It is not a matter of whether they will be able to find a replacement for Benteke, it is about the fact that the replacement that will arrive now can also possibly hand in a transfer request next summer if he manages to have a successful season ai??i?? so nearly every summer a club like Aston Villa might have to start from the scratch ai??i?? which is disheartening to say the least.

Moving on to the transfer market and Bentekeai??i??s possible future destination, three clubs have been linked with him by the rumour mills ai??i?? Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. For Arsenal, he is seen as a back-up option if the Gunners fail to land either of Higuain, Rooney or Suarez, while Tottenham are in desperate need of a striker after missing out on Damiao and David Villa. But it is Chelsea who are considered to be the front-runners in the race for Bentekeai??i??s signature.

The reigning Europa League champions are set to usher under Jose Mourinho second stint at the club and the Portuguese mastermind is said to be keen on adding a new striker upfront. At the start of this summer, Chelseaai??i??s primary targets were Falcao and Cavani. While Falcao has already joined Monaco, Cavani is set to sign for another French club, PSG. Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney have been linked with them as well, but Suarezai??i??s valuation and Manchester Unitedai??i??s unwillingness to sell Rooney to a direct rival means Chelsea will have to fall back on other options. But the problem for Jose Mourinho is the fact that very few plausible targets out there for them to pursue. Gomez has already joined Fiorentina, while Lewandowski is set to remain at Dortmund before joining Bayern Munich next season. So Benteke looks the most likely of options, considering he has handed in transfer request already.

With Chelsea one of the favorites to sign Benteke, it is important to see where he would find a place in the team and what he would add to the squad. Last season Fernando Torres and Demba Ba led the team upfront. But it wasn’t a productive season for either of them in the league. Torres (8) and Ba (2) managed a total of 10 goals in the league among themselves in 39 starts. To put it into perspective ai??i?? John Terry, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill and Cole managed to score 14 goals between themselves. So when your defenders outscore your strikers, it clearly provides a great cause for concern. But when you look at statistics selectively, it can be interpreted wrongly.

Everyone agrees that Fernando Torres is nowhere close to his best, but what is evident that he is gradually improving. It is easy to criticize the Spaniard based on the big prize tag and the chances he has missed, which has been highlighted, but it is evident that he is working hard on the pitch and maybe it is that desperation to prove himself once again, leads to mistakes. Torres might have struggled in the league, but his performances in the knock-out competitions and for Spain has improved drastically. The Spaniard has scored 22 goals and provided 7 assists in the 51 starts for Chelsea in all competitions ai??i?? doesnai??i??t look a shabby number now, does it? It is double the number of goals he has scored last season. He has been very good for Spain as well, both in the European championship and in the recently concluded Confederations cup. Next season, with Mourinho providing him with confidence, he could potentially reach greater heights.

Demba Ba was a good acquisition by Chelsea, especially at a reasonable price. He had been prolific in the league since joining West Ham in 2010. The 28-year-old scored six goals in 17 starts for the London club, but it is understandable that he needs to time to settle down at a new club, especially at a big club like Chelsea where you are not even sure of making it to the starting eleven every week.

But perhaps the man who could be the biggest difference upfront next season is Romelu Lukaku. The 20-year-old was signed from Anderlecht, amidst much fanfare, back in 2011. He was earmarked as the eventual replacement for Didier Drogba and although he made a slow start at the club, last season provided enough proofs that he is the real deal. Lukaku scored 17 goals in the league last season, in just 20 starts (15 more as a substitute) ai??i?? that is an amazing achievement considering the fact that West Brom didnai??i??t have the greatest of midfield to assist him. He showed his excellent physical strength, ability to dominate defenders, tremendous pace and directness on counter attacks ai??i?? basically every trait that Mourinho loves in his striker and something which made Drogba so successful. Moreover, he showed maturity beyond his age and composure to finish the chances when they arrived. Even at 20, he is no longer a ai???futureai??i?? prospect to be loaned out to another mid table club; he has out grown that stature. He is ready to stake a claim in the Chelsea first team and he deserves that opportunity.

So why would Chelsea want to sign Benteke, when they already have someone like Lukaku in their ranks?

It is not as if the Aston Villa striker is hugely experienced, he is just two years older than Lukaku. Moreover Lukaku is certainly more talented than Benteke, in fact he is perhaps one of the most hottest prospect in Europe presently. Signing Benteke makes little sense, unless Chelsea are looking to off-load either of Torres or Ba. Recent reports suggest that the Senegalese international is a transfer target of Russian moneybags Anzhi. But why would Chelsea sell a player who joined the club back in January? It is unwise to judge a player after spending just half a season at a club.

Even if one could argue that potentially Benteke might be a better all-round striker than Ba, it is hard to fathom why the Belgium international would want to be the third choice striker at the club, behind Torres and Lukaku, it defies the argument of ai???ambitionai??i?? he might present as a reason to leave Aston Villa. At his age, the primary ambition should be to play regularly at a team where he would be the focus of the attack ai??i?? something he is unlikely to achieve at Chelsea. He is not a 30-year-old trying to earn some winners medal before ending his career. So personally for Benteke, a move to Chelsea makes little sense as well ai??i?? but as stated above very few transfers makes sense these days.

Bentekeai??i??s career trait should also be a warning for Chelsea. He hasnai??i??t spent more than two seasons at any club till now (at Genk he has had two different stints already). When Genk fans were hoping that the club will build around Benteke and challenge Anderlecht for supremacy, he left because of his desire to play in England, after spending just one season. When Aston Villa, who gambled so much of their transfer budget on an unknown player and showed faith in him, hoped to push forward next season after avoiding relegation, he wishes to play for a bigger club and perhaps to compete in Europe. So what are the odds on him leaving Chelsea after one season, if Real Madrid and Barcelona comes calling – if he is successful ai??i?? or him handing over another transfer request because of lack of first team opportunities at Chelsea? Ai??ai???Ambitionai??i?? really has no end to it.

So Chelsea should really dodge the Benteke bullet. They should retain Ba and Torres and provide more opportunity to Lukaku next season. A Cavani or Suarez would have been a massive improvement on the present strike force, but Benteke isnai??i??t. So signing a striker just for the sake of it, is something Chelsea should avoid. The club has shown great prudence in the transfer market so far, and pleasingly so. They have avoided Cavani, because he was being overpriced ai??i?? another good sign that the club has cut down on extravagant spending and over paying for their targets. Chelsea are willing to investing in young talents, which is a welcome change considering the fact that Mourinho of old has been known to show more faith in experience than youth. Now it is time for the ai???Special Oneai??i?? to show some faith on Lukaku. His time is now.

Tags: Chelsea FC

Chelsea FC Must Avoid Signing Christian Benteke

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