Aston Villa eying up replacement for Benteke

According to various reports Aston Villa are targeting Emmanuel Adebayor as a replacement for Christian Benteke

Aston Villa are looking for a replacement for Belgium striker Christian Benteke, after Liverpool agreed to meet the strikers £32.5million release clause.

The 24-year-old is expected on Merseyside on Tuesday to have a medical ahead of completing the move.

The move will not come as a surprise to many, as Benteke has been consistently linked with a move away from the Midlands club for a good while.

The striker has been prolific in his Villa career, having scored 49 goals in 101 appearances for the Villans since his arrival from Genk in 2012.

Blow

Benteke will be the second star player to leave Villa in a week after midfielder and captain Fabian Delph joined Manchester City in an £8million move, following a strange change of heart after initially rejecting the move.

Replacements

With Benteke on the verge of leaving the club the Villans are being linked with a number of replacements this summer. A number of names have been linked with a move to the Midlands, with two names in particular being heavily linked with Villa.

One of the men being linked with a move to Villa is QPR striker Charlie Austin, who was expected to join Newcastle for a fee in the region of £15million. However, the Magpies have not yet tied up a deal for the highly-rated striker.

No doubt Austin would be a good signing for Villa. In fact he would be a good signing for any Premier League club and no I am not the striker’s agent before anyone suggests that!

The problem for Villa is the amount of competition for the striker’s signature. The list of clubs linked with a move for the striker is looking more and more like a petition every day.

Newcastle are favourites to sign the striker, as I talked about in an article a few days ago, but the likes of Leicester and Bournemouth have recently been linked with a move for the striker. Earlier in the summer transfer window moves to Chelsea and Everton were also suggested.

Austin is no doubt a competent replacement for Benteke, as the striker scored five more goals than the Belgian in the English top-flight in a QPR team that finished rock bottom in the table last season.

The 26-year-old scored 18 Premier League goals, but he is a player who thrives on service, whether the current Villa team can give him that service remains to be seen, as the Villans lack creativity.

They played a more expansive game after the appointment of Tim Sherwood as boss, but they still seem in need of an injection of creativity. Austin will still eke out chances for himself though and would still be a good addition.

Mercurial

Another name that has been bandied about in the press is Emmanuel Adebayor. The mercurial striker has fallen out-of-favour at Tottenham after Harry Kane’s rise to stardom at White Hart Lane.

According to various reports Villa have opened talks with Tottenham about signing the 31-year-old, with a fee of around £4million being suggested.

His wages of £100,000 could well be a nail in the tyres for Villa, but the Villans will be hoping to come to an agreement with the striker. It seems this move could be more popular with the Spurs fans than those of the claret and blue persuasion.

The Togo international is often brilliant, but at times he is infuriating. The former-Arsenal and Manchester City striker has so much ability, yet is let down by his unwilling attitude.

Adebayor always arrives at a club in a blaze of glory, scoring goals appearing to have turned over a new leaf, but when the novelty wears off he decides to take his foot off the gas and often goes missing, literally sometimes.

Adebayor could have been a great striker, instead he is an example of a player that had the talent but was not willing to put the effort in to make the most of his natural ability.

However, Villa boss Tim Sherwood has managed him before at Spurs and seems to have a good understanding with the striker. On form and with his head right Adebayor can be unplayable, unfortunately it is getting his head right that is the problem.

Trouble

Villa have lost some top talent this summer. The exit of Delph was a blow, but the exit of Benteke could be an even bigger blow for the Midlanders.

Tim Sherwood needs to act fast in strengthening his squad further, as the Villans struggled last season with Delph and Benteke, without them they could be in major trouble in the coming campaign.

Which striker should Aston Villa sign this summer?