Christian Benteke Liolo
If not Falcao, then why not the 24-year old Belgian man-mountain? At 6’3″ and with his massive frame, he also possesses the ideal skill sets required by Jose Mourinho… good in the air, great at holding up the ball and bullying opposing defenders as well as possessing a powerful right foot, with a knack for scoring spectacular goals. He also has the added advantage of being quite skillful on the ball, despite his large frame.
Since signing for Aston Villa from Standard Liege in 2012 as a 22-year-old, Benteke has scored an impressive 49 goals in 99 games, acclimatizing with relative ease to the pace and physicality of the English Premier League. After a stellar first season where he scored 23 goals in 39 games in all competitions, he struggled for form in the 2013-2014 season (which generally reflected the struggles of the team as well), scoring just 11 goals in 28 games in a season largely hindered by injuries and fitness issues that culminated in a rupture of his achilles tendon during a training session in April 2014 which effectively ruled him out for 6 months, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
His return saw him resume his goal-scoring form, hitting 5 in his first 5 games, but a barren spell, both for him and Aston Villa, that lasted over 16 games for club and country, saw him struggle for goals. With the sacking of Paul Lambert and appointment of Tim Sherwood however, he recovered his goal-scoring touch, hitting 10 goals in 11 games to end the season on a high.
The major stumbling block though is the 32 million pounds buy-out clause included in the 4-year contract he signed in 2013, which Aston Villa insist must be met to secure his signing. And while spending such an amount on a striker who will effectively be a back-up to Diego Costa does not make sound financial sense, getting a player of his calibre could be seen as a reasonable gamble that may provide great future dividends.
Next: Antoine Griezmann