Christian Benteke has been a name on West Ham’s seemingly never ending list of strikers for a while. According to reliable source ‘ExWHUemployee’ if Carlos Bacca finally decides against a move to West Ham, the club is likely to move for Benteke as David Gold is a big fan of the Liverpool striker. Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony is a Premier League proven forward who has been linked with a move to East London previously but not in recent weeks.
Christian Benteke scored 49 goals in his three seasons at Villa Park which is quite impressive when you consider the quality of players he was playing with. The 6ft 3 attacker was Aston Villa’s talisman and his goals more often than not were a pivotal reason in why Villa were not relegated. The Belgian goal scorer moved to Liverpool for around £32.5 million and it’s safe to say his time at the Merseyside club hasn’t gone as he expected. Benteke scored 9 goals whilst mostly making substitute appearances, under Slaven Bilic’s management I have no doubt that Christian Benteke could recapture his form and become prolific in East London.
Wilfried Bony shares various attributes with Christian Benteke and their decisions in English football have parallels. Bony in the 2013/2014 season scored 25 goals in all competitions with 17 of those coming in the league. Much like Benteke, Wilfried Bony was cherished at Swansea and the team was built around him, however at Manchester City he’s a small fish in a massive pond. Given how strenuous and frustrating West Ham’s search for a striker has been, it wouldn’t be surprising if the club enquired about Bony again. The Ivorian forward doesn’t suit Pep Guardiola’s style of play and he might eventually be deemed surplus to requirements with other strikers ahead of him in the pecking order.
Both Christian Benteke and Wilfried Bony have scored goals in the Premier League and impose themselves on defenders with a physical style. The Belgian number 9 on his day is a prolific forward in the Premier League and his time on Merseyside hasn’t worked out due to Klopp’s style. Liverpool’s asking price of around £30 million deterred Crystal Palace and given his season at Liverpool is too steep. Perhaps a loan move is something the club will look at but Liverpool want to offload him and I can’t see Jürgen Klopp accepting the proposed loan move from Hull for Benteke.
In summary, Christian Benteke and Wilfried Bony are both strong strikers who can and have been prolific in front of goal. Both the owners and Slaven Bilic like Benteke and assuming that Liverpool lower their asking price, the former Aston Villa man could well be a West Ham player and whilst he also shares similar attributes to Andy Carroll, he can be a success in East London playing in front of Payet, Feghouli, Lanzini and co.
