Aston Villa will be surprised to see former star Christian Benteke still firing up-front after moving away from Europe to venture to the MLS in 2022.
Christian Benteke will always be admired at Villa Park for his contribution to Aston Villa during his time at the club.
The Belgian arrived as a relatively unknown man back in 2012 from Genk and left as an established Premier League scorer, recording his best numbers in England in claret and blue.
After departing Birmingham in 2015 to sign for Liverpool, for what was a blockbuster price at the time of £32.5m, Benteke was sorely missed in the Midlands as he failed to reach his potential on Merseyside.
After only a year at Anfield, the striker was sold to Crystal Palace where he momentarily hit the heights he showed at Villa however, it was certainly the Villans that got the best out of the Belgium international.
Aston Villa record-holder Christian Benteke is in searing form in the MLS
Scoring 49 goals in 101 appearances for Villa lured Liverpool to purchase the forward due to his form in England.
Once lauded as “exceptional” by former boss Paul Lambert, Benteke’s Premier League career slowly fizzed out at Crystal Palace, seeing him venture outside of Europe in 2022 to join MLS side, DC United.
Last season, it was clear that the Belgian had found sanctuary in the States, netting 14 goals in the 2023 MLS, a figure that he is now on par to smash due to his fast start in the 2024 campaign.
Having scored four goals in only three appearances in the MLS this season, no player has a better average match rating than Benteke, who as per WhoScored, averages a stellar rating of 8.83 per game.
The former Villa whiz is ahead of Lionel Messi in the rankings as he flexes a monstrous scoring frequency of 68 minutes, via Sofascore.
How many more goals does Ollie Watkins need to break Aston Villa record
While Benteke’s form in front of goal in America won’t come as a surprise for the Villans based on his clinical streak at Villa Park, the club will hope that their current talisman can dethrone the Belgian this season.
Arguably, Ollie Watkins is the most competent Villa striker that the club have had since Benteke’s departure in 2015, with the Englishman now closing in on the 33-year-old’s long-standing club record.
11-years ago in the 2012/13 campaign, Benteke broke Villa’s record and became the club’s highest-scorer in Premier League history with 19 goals.
With 16 goals so far, Watkins is on course to break the former Villans’ record, requiring only three goals to match the talisman’s tally and four goals to break it in nine games.
Not only would the England international break the Villa record, but could, as a result, become the first Villa player to ever reach the 20-goal milestone in the Premier League, in what would round off an outstanding season for the 28-year-old.
Watkins will certainly be eyeing Benteke’s record, as the Belgian flourishes in the MLS.
