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Should Everton replace Romelu Lukaku with Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke?
Having lost one Belgian striker this summer, Everton are reportedly ready to make a move for another in the form of Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke, according to .
The Toffees have been extremely busy in the transfer window so far, signing Burnley defender Michael Keane, Sandro Ramirez from Malaga, Davy Klaassen from Ajax, and Wayne Rooney, who, of course, makes the return to his boyhood club.
However, with the loss of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, manager Ronald Koeman needs a player to replace his main man and could look to Benteke to do that job.
In many ways, the forward is very similar to the player Everton have just sold. A fellow Belgian, Benteke has a similar stature to his national team-mate. Six foot and two inches tall and with a large physique to match, the 26-year-old is a handful for any defender, to say the least.
He is also very dangerous in front of goal. In his time in the Premier League, with three different clubs, Benteke has been a consistent goal-scorer and has developed into a top striker. Joining Aston Villa in 2012, he has managed 66 goals in the Premier League since then.
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Benteke’s game revolves around having his back to goal and getting on the end of crosses. Although the Belgian international does possess some pace, it is very rare that you’ll see him latching onto through balls put beyond the opposition’s defence.
However, he is superb at getting on the end of crosses, especially with his head, with seven of his fifteen goals for Palace being headers last season – an impressive stat. This will please Koeman, whose side registered 20 crosses per game last season, one of the highest in the league.
The Belgian has already spent time on Merseyside with Liverpool, and Everton fans will be hoping he will have a better time in Blue than he did in Red.
Signed by Brendan Rogers in the summer of 2015, Benteke quickly fell out of favour when Jurgen Klopp took over. The German’s high-tempo, non-stop football didn’t entirely suit the Belgian’s playing style. Despite limited game-time, the forward still scored nine goals.
In a side like Everton’s, however, a team whose game is already centred around serving a big target man up top, Benteke could be very effective. He would be provided with plenty of service and the Belgian has the quality to turn the opportunities into goals.
The Toffees have been very unfortunate to lose Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, but, Christian Benteke could turn out to be a fantastic replacement and a very good player for the Toffees if they did push through a deal for the Crystal Palace man.
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